Report: Josh Norman Out Four Weeks With Broken Rib and Punctured Lung

Redskins head coach Jay Gruden was right when he said Monday night that the injury Josh Norman suffered in the first half would keep him out for multiple weeks.

Norman tweeted Friday that he would be out four weeks and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports the diagnosis was a broken rib and small puncture of the lung.

After a bye this week, Washington has an important stretch of games coming up that it could be forced to navigate without its top player on defense. The Skins play the 49ers in Week 6, followed by a Monday night game against the Eagles in Philadelphia and a home game against the Cowboys. Norman’s four-week timeline would have him return for another tough test in Week 9 on the road against the Seahawks.

Bashaud Breeland will assume Norman’s No. 1 corner duties, while Quinton Dunbar is likely to cover the other side of the field in Washington’s base defense.

The injury means Norman will miss his first NFL game since a concussion sidelined him for two weeks in 2014 with the Panthers.