The San Francisco 49ers and Jacksonville Jaguars are expected to show strong interest in All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman, whose franchise tag was rescinded Wednesday by the Carolina Panthers, two league sources told Yahoo Sports. The sources said the 49ers have surfaced as the "leading" candidate between the two franchises.

This comes after Norman was unexpectedly freed for a free-agent pursuit Wednesday afternoon, following a fruitless negotiation in which the Panthers and Norman never came close to signing a long-term deal. The Panthers did not want to pay Norman more than $11 million a season, and pointed to the team's scheme as a primary reason for that reality, sources familiar with those negotiations said.

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The 49ers and the Jaguars both have more than $50 million in salary-cap space remaining this offseason. Jacksonville was interested in Norman's status prior to his tagging by the Panthers, sources said. As for the 49ers, they failed to make a splash in this free-agent market and big-money pitches have been hard to come by this offseason. But their secondary is in need of a significant talent infusion at cornerback, and a source said Norman is the kind of free agent that intrigues ownership. That spells a meaningful financial pursuit.

While the Panthers respected Norman's performance in their zone coverage scheme, sources said an opinion lingered among some that Norman's skills weren't comparable to elite man-to-man cornerbacks in the league. The specific concern was that Norman's lack of elite speed (he entered the NFL running in the 4.6-second range) and penchant for risk made him vulnerable. The belief was that Norman would always require a high-level safety capable of cleaning up his mistakes, and wasn't on the same level as the Seattle Seahawks' Richard Sherman, who also plays in a zone-heavy scheme. The sources said Norman was not viewed by everyone in the franchise as capable of shadowing an opponent's No. 1 receiver on a full-game basis, a la the New York Jets' Darrelle Revis.

Those types of players, full-time, man-to-man cornerbacks with top-shelf speed, rise to the top of the salary scale. Revis' $14.02 million-per-year salary reflects that, pacing all NFL defensive backs. One league source said Norman was seeking to set a new bar at the cornerback position, exceeding the Revis deal to the tune of $15 million to $16 million per year. The source added that the Panthers balked at those figures and were prepared to let Norman play out this season under the franchise tag price of $13.95 million. The source said the mindset of Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman changed when the cornerback didn't sign the tag and appeared intent on holding out the entire offseason program.

From all accounts, Gettleman looms as the primary decision-maker in this move. Other NFL executives said while they were surprised the Panthers didn't work out a long-term deal, they noted Gettleman as having a reputation of cutting to the chase in personnel talks. When it became clear the two sides were too far apart and a Norman holdout could become an offseason distraction, he apparently was inclined to avoid that path.

Even as a free agent, Norman may have a hard time achieving a $15 million-to-$16 million-per-season average. Three high-ranking NFL executives surveyed Wednesday night said Norman's salary should fall in the $12 million-per-season range. But all three conceded that a suitor could blow his salary out and match the deal given to Sherman, which averages $14 million per year.