A graduate of James Madison University, Norwood was released by the NFL's Atlanta Falcons just prior to the start of the 1982 season.  Given a second chance by the Stallions, he made the most of it, connecting on 25 of 34 field goal attempts and 34 of 35 extra points to score 109 points in the Stallions maiden 9-9-0 season.  The following year however he fell injured, leaving the door open for another kicker, Danny Miller, to take his job in Birmingham.

Invited to the Buffalo Bills training camp in 1985, Norwood beat out nine other kickers for the starting job, and stayed with the team through its 1991 season.  There he made 133 out of 184 field goals and 271 of 278 extra points, scoring 670 points and playing a pivotal role in the Bills AFC championships of 1990 and 1991.  But it would be a missed 47 yard field goal try at the conclusion of Super Bowl XXV that forever burned Norwood's name into football history - a bad rap, really, considering that Norwood had never successfully kicked from that distance on grass, and that the Bills defense had allowed the Giants to maintain possession of the ball for over two thirds of the contest.

Norwood played one more year with the Bills, making clutch kicks including a crucial one in the Bills 10-7 win over Denver for the 1991 AFC title.  By the start of the 1992 season he was gone, however, replaced by Steve Christie.  Following his playing days he returned to Virginia, where today he lives with his family and sells real estate.