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The Panthers started their offseason workouts on Monday and a couple of veteran members of the team met with the media to discuss one of their former teammates.

Cornerback Josh Norman wasn’t expected to be at workouts after getting the franchise tag, but the decision by General Manager Dave Gettleman and the team’s brass to pull the tag and make Norman a free agent was a surprise. Linebacker Thomas Davis called it “disappointing” that an agreement to keep Norman on the roster couldn’t be worked out, but said “this thing is strictly a business.” Tight end Greg Olsen had a similar take.

“We have to trust in Dave and his staff,” Olsen said, via the team’s website. “They’ve gotten us to a pretty good place right now. I don’t think anyone would sit here and say you want to lose good players, you want to lose guys that are some of the best in the league at what they do. I don’t think anyone would pretend that’s the goal. But sometimes things don’t always go your way; sometimes things don’t always play out in the ideal situation. I think this one would be a pretty good example of that.”

Both Davis and Olsen said they were happy for Norman, who landed a five-year deal with the Redskins a couple of days after getting turned loose by the Panthers. Davis also added that he hopes Norman’s departure makes it easier to “sign some of our guys that we have to take care of moving forward.” Defensive tackles Kawann Short and Star Lotulelei are at or near the top of that list for the Panthers in the near future.