Redskins' Norman, Saints' Thomas engage in Twitter feud

Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman and New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas didn't just compete against each other during Monday night's game. They took their battle to social media as well. Norman was one of several Redskins players to criticize Thomas after the Saints' 43-19 victory. "That guy -- to speak on him, I will not waste my breath," Norman said, when asked about the 25-year-old Thomas. "I'm sorry. I will not. He's not worthy of it. He never will be worthy of it." Thomas took issue, tweeting that he "made that boy check out after the first half," referring to Norman's brief benching in the second half. Norman briefly was replaced in the second half by rookie Greg Stroman, who gave up a long touchdown. Norman was quick to respond to Thomas on social media, accusing him of "clout chasing" while adding an emoji of a clown. The 30-year-old also said that Thomas did not have a reception when lined up against him. Thomas wouldn't let that go, referencing Norman as a "zone corner" and that he was "going to bully you ever(y) time I see you." Norman has since deleted the tweets, although others have posted screenshots on Twitter. Redskins safety D.J. Swearinger took up for his teammate while lowering the boom on Thomas. " (Thomas) is just a clown -- just clowning," Swearinger said. "Just doing little petty stuff after the play. Petty stuff after the play the referees would call if this wasn't history night for Drew Brees. But we had to fight against the refs and all that, too." Thomas, who finished with four catches for 74 yards on Monday, set the NFL record for most receptions in the first two years of a career (196) and the most catches through the first three weeks of a season this year (38). Norman let Tre'Quan Smith run past him and catch a 62-yard touchdown reception and was benched for the first series of the second half. But he was not the only defensive back who was burned. The Saints had completions of 62, 46, 31, 28 and 23 yards. "It is a communication issue and it's something we have to address as a staff," Gruden said Tuesday during a conference call, according to the Washington Post. "Maybe we're asking too much. Maybe we need to simplify some things. But these are things we've been doing since training camp and we can't have that happen. "