ASHBURN, VA. — Chris Culliver‘s tenure with the Washington Redskins lasted just six games.
General manager Scot McCloughan announced Monday the cornerback was being released after the team signed free agent Josh Norman away from the Carolina Panthers. Additionally, the Redskins selected Kendall Fuller during the third round of last week’s NFL Draft.
“It was just the numbers and what we have going now,” McCloughan said at a news conference at Redskins Park. “Norman came out of nowhere.”
Out of nowhere, and for a price. The Redskins signed the All-Pro Norman to a four-year, $75 million contract, which includes $36.5 million in fully guaranteed money. In their stable of cornerbacks, Washington has Will Blackmon, Bashaud Breeland, converted wideout Quinton Dunbar and the aforementioned Fuller, who is rehabbing from an injury of his own.
The 27-year-old Culliver signed a four-year deal with Washington a year ago as a free agent after spending four seasons with the 49ers. He appeared in just a dozen games for the Redskins, and during a Thanksgiving Day practice last season, he tore ACL and MCL ligaments in his right knee, and never returned to the field as a result.
Additionally, Culliver sat out of the Redskins Week 2 game last season after being found in violation of the league’s personal conduct policy — the NFL never officially released the reason for Culliver’s suspension, however, he’d been arrested in March 2014 on suspicion of felony hit-and-run and reckless driving. The suspension also revoked his guaranteed $8 million salary for the upcoming season.
McCloughan said he spoke with Culliver about 30 minutes prior to his first scheduled press conference since the draft.
“This is the tough part for me about this business, is having to do stuff like that with any player — but especially with him, because of the injury and that stuff,” McCloughan said. “It gives him an opportunity to go out there and test free agency. And our door is not closed yet, either.”
Culliver was not offered the option to restructure his contract, the general manager said.
“He can go out there and test the market and see what happens and hopefully he gets what he wants. I have no problem bringing him back here,” he said. “He’s going to be in the league. Might be here, might be somewhere else.”
Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.
