Josh Norman isn't one to shy away from controversy. Part of it is bravado -- when you're labeled a shutdown corner, it comes with the territory -- and part of it seems to be that it's just how he's wired. After all, this is the same guy who pretends to be a different movie character every week of the season.

And while the Panthers wanted Norman to temper some of the trash-talking (this immediately comes to mind), he has no such constraints in Washington, where he signed a five-year, $75 million deal in April.

So it's hardly surprising that Norman spoke frankly to ESPN's Kevin Van Valkenburg on a number of NFL-related topics. Here's an excerpt, via the Washington Post's Dan Steinberg:

"Spend any time around Norman and it's easy to understand how he became one of the NFL's most interesting, and polarizing, players. Riding in an Uber past the Eiffel Tower and during hours of idle conversation over the next two days, he offers thoughts on everything and everyone, including NFL commissioner Roger Goodell ("Horrible. He's straight horrible."), the league's crackdown on big hits ("What happened to us? Society is so soft.") and Washington's nickname ("Redskins is not offensive to me. I'm part Native American on both my mom's and my dad's side. It's kind of a funny thing, though. A redskin playing for the Redskins.").

(Norman is also on the cover of the latest issue of ESPN the Magazine, which hits newsstands Friday.)

Norman also told Van Valkenburg that he couldn't wait to face Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford twice a year, though we like to imagine every NFC East cornerback has had the same thought. The difference: Norman, who is mentioned in the same breath as Richard Sherman and Patrick Peterson -- and is better compensated -- now has a target on his back.

But if he plays in Washington like he did in Carolina, Norman will be free to say and do whatever he wants. That's the deal; if you can back up all the gum-flapping, no one cares about the other stuff. However, if things go sideways, fans might be using Norman's criticism of Goodell to describe the cornerback.