A journeyman offensive tackle who fought his way from an undrafted Toledo product to a starting NFL role after stops with six different franchises.
Storm Norton's NFL path has run through Detroit, Arizona, Minnesota, the XFL, Los Angeles and New Orleans before landing him in Atlanta, a testament to the kind of durability and versatility that keeps offensive linemen employed for a decade. Now with the Falcons, he is working back from a significant ankle injury that cost him most of the 2025 season.
Path to the league
Norton played four seasons at Toledo from 2012 to 2016, starting 28 of his 46 games and earning first-team All-Mid-American Conference honors in both 2015 and 2016. He went undrafted in 2017 and signed with the Detroit Lions, beginning a long journey through practice squads and multiple rosters before carving out a real NFL role.
Career highlights
After stints with the Lions, Cardinals and Vikings, Norton found consistent playing time with the Los Angeles Chargers, starting 15 of 17 games at right tackle in 2021. He also spent time with the Los Angeles Wildcats of the XFL in 2020, where Pro Football Focus rated him the league's highest-graded offensive lineman. He has appeared in 67 career NFL games with 22 starts across stops with the Lions, Cardinals, Vikings, Chargers, Saints and Falcons.
2025 season recap
Norton's 2025 season was cut short by injury. He underwent ankle surgery in August and was expected to miss six to eight weeks, but after a brief return-from-injured-reserve designation in October, his activation window closed and he reverted to season-ending injured reserve.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Storm Norton
- ESPN: Storm Norton
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Offensive Tackle
- Group
- injuredReserveOrOut
- College
- Toledo
- Hometown
- Toledo, OH, USA
- Age
- 32
- Status
- day-to-day
