Washington's Josh Norman in 'Dancing with the Stars' final Monday night

Shalise Manza Young
·Columnist

We’re still a few months away from “Monday Night Football,” but you can watch one NFL player in action on Monday night: Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman is one of three finalists for the “Dancing with the Stars” mirrorball trophy.

This shorter-than-usual season featured 10 current or former athletes, including one of the darlings of the PyeongChang Winter Games, figure skater Adam Rippon, NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Notre Dame women’s basketball hero Arike Ogunbowale and Norman.

Different uniform: Washington CB Josh Norman has traded his shoulder pads for sequins this offseason, as part of the “Dancing with the Stars” cast. (AP)
Different uniform: Washington CB Josh Norman has traded his shoulder pads for sequins this offseason, as part of the “Dancing with the Stars” cast. (AP)

Norman, Rippon and Tonya Harding are the three finalists competing for the title.

The 30-year-old is paired with dance pro Sharna Burgess, who is no stranger to dancing with NFL players: in 2016, she partnered with Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Antonio Brown, and in 2013 she was paired with retired receiver Keyshawn Johnson.

While followers of the show have predicted Rippon would win as soon as he was announced as a cast member — he obviously has a lot of dance training in skating and oozes personality — Burgess believes Norman has what it takes to win.

“I feel amazing about Josh. I’m telling you, this guy can win it all,” she told Entertainment Weekly recently. “He has the charm, the talent, he has a great following behind him because of football. He has all the makings of what this show is about — someone who has absolutely no background in dancing who is getting out there and giving their absolute everything. It’s not always the best dancer who wins. It’s not always the ringer who wins. It’s the one who is the whole package. I think Josh has that.”

Here’s the couple’s contemporary dance from last week, which helped get them to the finals:

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