Norman continues to operate with the same chip on his shoulder that allowed him to make a name for himself. When Gruden ended a recent preseason practice early, most of the veterans saw it as a chance to enjoy some well-earned downtime. Norman didn't appear in the locker room until 30 minutes after everybody else, as he spent that time honing his ball skills and perfecting his technique. As several teammates played shuffleboard or ping-pong, he ambled to his locker still wearing his helmet, his visor shading his eyes, but his focus clear to all who could see him.

Blackmon said that drive has earned Norman tremendous respect already: "Sometimes you don't know if a guy is going to work after getting a big contract, but he's been a student of the game." Norman expects to be equally tenacious on Sundays: "We've moved into the era [where] you can't touch guys at the 5 yards and you can't touch them here or there, [and] if you do, it's a flag. Whatever. We're going to play this game how it's supposed to be played -- straight physical ... If you don't want to see it, turn your channel."

Norman channeled that intensity into must-see TV during much of last season, when he clashed with some of the game's top receivers. He tangled with the Cowboys' Dez Bryant, Falcons' Julio Jones, Buccaneers' Mike Evans and -- most notably -- the Giants' Odell Beckham Jr. Norman remains so irritated by Beckham that when asked to assess the receiver's strengths, Norman would only say, "He's a dancing machine. That's all I got for him. [He] dances everywhere."

Norman's tenacity also comes from an obvious place: being a former nobody, a player who didn't inspire confidence, a guy some people wrote off before ever seeing what he really could do. Norman knows those labels all too well, largely because he had to march straight through them to become the Pro Bowl pitchman who was filming Adidas segments before someone drove Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson onto the set in a golf cart. After Norman finished his work, he pointed back at Peterson and said, "When you see a guy like that coming to the shoot, it's respect. You know you've kind of did something good in your sport."

The world Norman lives in today is a far cry from where he started. Growing up in Greenwood, he competed with the four other brothers his mother, Sandra, raised in that tiny town of roughly 23,000 people. (Sandra and Josh's father, Roy, separated when Norman was 11 years old.) The Norman boys played multiple sports, beat up on each other relentlessly and developed an edge in their youngest brother that remains sharp to this day. Make no mistake: Josh Norman wasn't backing down from anybody.

Norman was also a big-hearted creative spirit who believed deeply in the importance of family. He was the kind of kid who would give you his last piece of candy, and he was quick to defend his siblings. Norman's oldest brother, Renaldo, once wanted a pair of Air Jordan basketball shoes so badly that he infuriated Sandra by claiming she had the money to buy them and simply wouldn't. When Sandra bolted upstairs to contain her anger, it was Josh who followed behind her, all the while telling their mother that his brother didn't mean to be that harsh.

"He's definitely a family-oriented guy," Renaldo said. "Josh has the biggest heart [of] probably anyone I've met. He'll do anything for anybody in his family. He'll do anything that he can do."

That connection to family became critical as Norman moved deeper into his football career. A standout two-way player at Greenwood High, he wound up with no Division I scholarship offers. He could've played at Mars Hill, a Division II school in North Carolina, but Norman opted instead to move to Myrtle Beach, where he hoped to walk on at Coastal Carolina. Norman took some classes at nearby Horry Georgetown Tech while he slept on the couch in an apartment leased by his older brother Marrio, who already played for Coastal Carolina.

There were plenty of days when Norman ran sprints on the neighborhood streets and timed himself in the 40-yard dash, usually after working eight-hour days as a mental-health technician at Lighthouse Care Center of Conway. He brought that same spirit to the NFL after becoming a star at Coastal Carolina and finishing second in school history with 13 interceptions. Despite being an unheralded fifth-round pick, Norman spent his rookie season battling daily with former PanthersPro Bowl wide receiver Steve Smith, who now plays in Baltimore.

Said Panthers outside linebacker Thomas Davis: "When Josh came in as a young kid, he wasn't very confident in his speed and ability and what he could do. It also didn't help that he was going against Steve Smith. The battles between Josh and Smitty were a lot like the ones Josh had with Odell Beckham Jr., just in a more respectful way. Josh didn't back down. And that ultimately made him who he is."

Still, Norman's early career was erratic, at best. The same guy who impressed enough to earn 12 starts as a rookie only played in seven games in his second year and was listed as inactive in five contests. Panthers head coach Ron Rivera didn't like Norman's penchant for freelancing. He wanted a player more willing to stay true to his role in Carolina's defensive schemes.

That year forced Norman to take a hard look at himself.

"I asked God, 'Is this truly what you want me to do?,' " Norman said. " 'To be here, be a backup, watching guys play in front of me that I know clearly that I'm better than? Like, this is what you want? Like, let me know, tell me.' "

The player that came out of that is the one that literally nobody saw coming.

Norman earned back the trust of the Panthers coaches in 2014 -- when he started 10 games -- and then announced himself to the rest of the world a year later. Fans outside of Carolina first heard his name when he scuffled with PanthersPro Bowl quarterback Cam Newton in training camp last year. Then Norman opened the season by returning two interceptions for touchdowns in Carolina's first four wins. It also helped that the Panthers rolled to a 15-1 regular-season record, with Norman starring on an elite defense.

Norman eventually made his first Pro Bowl after amassing 56 tackles, four interceptions, three forced fumbles and two touchdowns. "I was [returning] interceptions for touchdowns, and I think that's what really got the most pub," Norman said. "Everybody really opened their eyes [and said], 'Oh, who is this kid from Carolina now?' "

Norman played so well that it seemed a given he would cash in once his rookie contract ran out after the 2015 season. Carolina hinted as much when they gave him their franchise tag, which would've guaranteed him a one-year salary of $13.952 million for 2016 if he couldn't reach a long-term deal with the franchise. But once negotiations ensued, Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman chafed at Norman's demands to become the league's highest-paid cornerback. By April 20, Carolina decided it couldn't reach a deal, and that it was better to let Norman walk (the team will receive a compensatory third-round pick in return).

Norman didn't know what hit him when he got the call from his agent, Michael George. He literally scurried back to the bedroom in his suburban Atlanta home and sat in the darkness for hours while trying to make sense of what happened. Renaldo Norman said Josh felt "like he got stabbed in the back," while Norman wondered why neither Gettleman nor Rivera called him directly.

"I put in all that work, all that time, all that energy to turn things around and do it the right way and this is how it ends," Norman said. "At least you could have given me a phone call. Geez, like, I had to call them! I picked the phone up, like, 'What's going on? What happened?' "

"When we tagged Josh in March], we had every intention to get something done," Gettleman said. "But through conversations, we realized it was going to be impossible. I just kept thinking about what I could do with that $14 million, and you have to remember that the draft was cornerback-heavy (the [Panthers selected three corners in this year's class). So you have those things working, and I just made the decision."

Norman remained shell-shocked by the move, until the Redskins started blowing up his cellphone. They were the first team to show interest in him, and their attack was full-on, once they had him on-site two days later: The team already had shipped him a jersey bearing his No. 24; his entire family traveled with him to Washington to support him during his visit; and, the franchise created an offer that was too good to pass up. (Norman hired another agent, Ryan Williams, to negotiate his deal with Washington after thinking about firing George, who ultimately continued as part of Norman's representation team.)

The money was important. So was the adoration. "I never went to college as a scholarship recruit] or went to the NFL as a first-round draft pick," Norman said. "Even when I got to the NFL, I had to work my way up. And now, once I got freedom, man was it ever great to feel wanted, and loved upon. And you saw it: These guys right here are truly all in on [Josh Norman."

Norman has savored that love ever since joining the Redskins. He's been inundated with media requests. He's accepted a job as an in-season analyst for FOX (a move the Redskins brass did indeed know about beforehand). He's also continued to annoy receivers around the league without lining up across from them. After he boasted about how Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas only caught one pass in Carolina's loss to Denver in Super Bowl 50, Thomas responded by tweeting a picture of his championship ring to Norman.

As much as Norman's antics can make people wonder about his personal agenda, there is substantial depth beneath the surface. That was clear at the end of Super Bowl 50, when he sat on the edge of a bench, his hands shielding the tears streaming down his face. Norman stayed there so long after his teammates left because he wanted to remember that pain. It's a stretch to say he will help the Redskins reach that level in his first season, but he also knows what it takes to achieve such heights.

Rivera still says that Norman's departure meant losing "the personality and identity of our pass defense." That's exactly what Norman hopes to create in a major market ready-made for a man whose star keeps steadily rising.

"What are they going to get from Josh Norman?" Norman said. "Everything you see on the TV and off. Because where it starts [is with] the work. Nothing more, nothing less. I am going to work when I've got [money] and I'm going to work when I don't have it. Either way, I'm not going back to where I once was. And that's what drives me."