NFL notebook: Friction growing between Redskins coaches, Norman?

Norman wasn't benched for his play, but rather for refusing to take off his
headphones as Washington coach Jay Gruden spoke to the team at halftime,
according to Redskins pregame show host Kevin Sheehan, who discussed it on his
podcast Friday.

"At halftime, according to my source, put his headphones on while the
coaches were addressing the team. Jay Gruden told him to take them off. He
either didn't hear Jay or he ignored him, but with that, I was told, the
headphones were removed. By whom? My source says that he believes it was
Gruden who removed the headphones from Norman's head. But regardless, Gruden
benched him to start the third quarter, and that was the reason why," Sheehan
said, according to a Washington Post transcript.

Sheehan also said there seems to be some tension between Norman and several of
the team's coaches. Norman was benched for five plays and allowed two
touchdowns on two targets, good for a 158.3 passer rating, per Pro Football
Focus.

Norman also got into a short-lived Twitter beef with Saints No. 1 wide
receiver Michael Thomas following the game, after Thomas caught four passes
for 74 yards in the Saints' lopsided 43-19 win. Thomas was fined $10,026 by
the NFL on Saturday for his unsportsmanlike conduct during the game.

--Former Green Bay fullback Jim Taylor, a member of the Pro Football Hall of
Fame, died Saturday morning at age 83, the team announced.

Known for his bruising running style, he played in Green Bay from 1958-66 and
exceeded 1,000 rushing yards each season from 1960-64. He ran for a
league-high 1,474 yards in 1962 when the Packers won the NFL championship. The
Associated Press named him the league MVP that season -- before he ran for 85
yards in the title game, a bruising defensive battle against the New York
Giants.

A contemporary of fellow Hall of Fame member Jim Brown, Taylor played second
fiddle to the faster Brown. He took it personally and viewed each of the games
between Brown's Cleveland team and his Packers as a personal match. In their
three head-to-head games, including the 1965 NFL Championship Game, the
Packers won all three, with Taylor outgaining Brown in two of them.

Taylor led the Packers in rushing in seven seasons, and he started at fullback
on six of Vince Lombardi's seven NFL championship teams. He entered the Pro
Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio in 1976 -- the first member of
Lombardi's team to receive the honor.

--The Cleveland Browns will sign former Baltimore Ravens receiver Breshad
Perriman to bolster a receiver corps with only four healthy players, according
to multiple reports.

The Ravens drafted Perriman in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft but
released him in September. His career has been marred by injuries and dropped
passes. Since entering the league, the 25-year-old Perriman has 43 catches for
576 yards and three touchdowns in 27 games. He never has gained more than 65
receiving yards in a game.

--The Green Bay Packers are listing starting wide receivers Randall Cobb and
Geronimo Allison as questionable with hamstring injuries for Monday night's
game against the San Francisco 49ers.

Cobb has missed the previous two games, while Allison has sat out one game.
Cobb has 17 receptions for 194 yards and one touchdown, and Allison has 19
catches for 289 yards and two scores. Both players were limited practice
participants on Saturday for the third consecutive day.

The 49ers are hopeful that running back Matt Breida (shoulder, ankle) will be
available. He returned to practice on Saturday in a limited role. He was
listed as questionable, and his availability will be decided on Monday.

--Field Level Media