[7] Norman was projected to be a late round pick at the end of his senior season, but began to climb draft boards after impressing scouts during East-West Shrine Game practices.

[10] On January 28, 2012, he played in the 2012 Senior Bowl as part of Minnesota Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier's North team that defeated the South 23–13.

[24] Head coach Ron Rivera named Norman and Chris Gamble the starting cornerbacks to begin the regular season.

[25] He made his professional regular season debut and first career start in the Panthers' at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and recorded four combined tackles during their 16–10 loss.

Norman became a focal point of the secondary after the Panthers placed Chris Gamble on injured reserve due to a shoulder injury on October 22, 2012.

[27] On October 28, 2012, Norman recorded five combined tackles, deflected a pass, and made his first career interception in the Panthers’ 23–22 loss at the Chicago Bears in Week 8.

Norman intercepted a pass by Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler, that was originally intended for wide receiver Brandon Marshall, during the first quarter.

[28] Norman began to struggle towards the end of his rookie season and was eventually surpassed on the depth chart by Josh Thomas and was relegated to a backup cornerback beginning in Week 14.

[31] Head coach Ron Rivera named Norman the third cornerback on the depth chart to begin the regular season, behind Captain Munnerlyn and Josh Thomas.

During the fourth quarter, Bills’ quarterback E. J. Manuel threw a two-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Stevie Johnson after a miscommunication between Josh Norman and cornerback D. J. Moore.

[38] Despite losing Captain Munnerlyn in free agency to the Vikings as well as Drayton Florence, Norman was not considered the team's first option to start opposite Melvin White to begin the year.

[40][41] He maintained a roster spot after a strong preseason, but was named the fifth cornerback on the depth chart behind Melvin White, Antoine Cason, Bené Benwikere, and Charles Godfrey.

[42] In Week 5, Norman earned his first start of the season, over Melvin White, and recorded three combined tackles in the Panthers’ 31–24 win against the Bears.

Norman began to show his potential as a shutdown corner in the second half of the 2014 season while continually covering the opposing team's top receiver.

During the season opening victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Norman was thrown at nine times, allowed just three completions for five yards, and managed to force a fumble and collect a pick-six against quarterback Blake Bortles.

[52] The following week, Norman sealed a 27–22 win against the New Orleans Saints after an interception in the end zone on a pass by Luke McCown intended for Brandin Cooks with a minute remaining in the game.

[61] During the Panthers Week 7 victory over the Eagles, Norman recorded 3 tackles, 2 pass deflections and gave up 1 catch for 3 yards in coverage.

[66] Over the first 14 weeks of the season, Norman held DeAndre Hopkins, Mike Evans, T. Y. Hilton, Dez Bryant, and Julio Jones to a combined 9 receptions for 89 yards.

The clash with Beckham caused the NFL to implement a new rule for the following season where two unsportsmanlike conduct fouls in the same game warrant an automatic ejection.

[71][72] On April 20, 2016, the Panthers rescinded their franchise tag that they placed on Norman, after he and the team failed to come to an agreement on a new contract, making him an unrestricted free agent.

[77][78] In Week 3, Norman faced off against Odell Beckham Jr. and the Giants, which generated media attention due to their previous controversial matchup in 2015; during the 29-27 win he managed to get Giants center Weston Richburg ejected under the new unsportsmanlike conduct foul rule simply by running past Richburg in pursuit of Beckham, who had the football at the time.

[84] During a Week 4 game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Norman suffered injuries to his lung lining and a fractured rib after tackling wide receiver Chris Conley in the second quarter.

[87] In Week 5 against the Saints, Norman was benched after allowing a 62-yard touchdown reception to Tre'Quan Smith, but eventually came back in the second half as the Redskins lost the game 43–19.

[88][89] In Week 6 against the Panthers, his former team, Norman intercepted quarterback Cam Newton and forced a fumble off of rookie wide receiver D. J. Moore.

[91] Due to poor performance, interim head coach Bill Callahan made the decision to replace Norman as a starter with Fabian Moreau for the Week 12 game against the Detroit Lions.

Norman forced a fumble on Raiders tight end Darren Waller in the fourth quarter and recovered the football himself, setting up a touchdown drive to seal the game as Buffalo won 30–23.

[100] In Week 17 against the Miami Dolphins, Norman recorded his first interception as a Bill off a pass thrown by Tua Tagovailoa and returned it for a 16-yard touchdown during the 56–26 win.

[107] During his time with the Redskins, Norman appeared in several local car dealership commercials alongside Kirk Cousins and Ryan Kerrigan.

[108][109][110] In September 2017, Norman donated $100,000 to the recovery efforts following the devastation Puerto Rico received after Hurricane Maria impacted the country earlier that month.

[112][113] He was partnered with professional dancer Sharna Burgess, where he eventually progressed to the finals, finishing as the runner-up behind figure skater Adam Rippon.