Patriots are reportedly releasing Stephon Gilmore
Gilmore was eligible to come off the PUP list after Week 6.
The Patriots-Stephon Gilmore saga just ended in a bizarre twist.
ESPN insider Adam Schefter reported New England is releasing the All-Pro cornerback in a surprise move Wednesday.
Gilmore would have been eligible to return to the Patriots after Week 6 after spending the start of the season on the PUP list.
In his own statement, the star defensive back acknowledged “mixed emotions” as he said goodbye to the New England fanbase, the Patriots organization and his teammates.
The 2019 Defensive Player of the Year had been recovering from a torn quad suffered last year but had also been angling for a new contract from the team. His contract would have paid him $7 million in 2021, which was the final season of a five-year, $65 million deal.
A later tweet from Schefter suggested the contract, rather than Gilmore’s health, might have been the reason for the fallout between the two sides, saying the Patriots and Gilmore “could not agree to a restructured contract.”
Sports Illustrated NFL writer Albert Breer further reported Gilmore’s injured quad is now healed and that he could, in theory, begin getting into football shape sooner rather than later.
The reporter also suggested the Patriots had hoped to restructure Gilmore’s contract to save cap space and that the cornerback refused.
Why did the Patriots release Stephon Gilmore? How contract dispute, injury ended his time in New England
Bill Belichick and the Patriots have a penchant for making surprising moves, and they stunned the NFL world with one Wednesday morning. The team is planning to release former All-Pro cornerback Stephon Gilmore.
Gilmore, 31, is in the final year of his deal with the Patriots and hasn’t played while nursing a quad injury. He was due just $7 million in base salary this season and there had been some tension brewing regarding an extension or restructure to compensate Gilmore at a higher rate. He was the Defensive Player of the Year in 2019, after all, so he felt he was due a raise.
Why did the Patriots release Stephon Gilmore?
The Patriots’ decision to release Stephon Gilmore was largely a financial one. The team was pressed up against the salary cap and needed to open up some space to sign linebacker Jamie Collins to a deal.
And as ESPN’s Adam Schefter explained, the Patriots won’t owe Gilmore any money beyond this season since he’s in the final year of his deal. So, releasing him was one of the team’s easiest paths to open up cap space.
Could the Buffalo Bills reunite with cornerback Stephon Gilmore?
could the Buffalo Bills bring back their former first round pick?
The big news on Wednesday morning was the New England Patriots releasing cornerback Stephon Gilmore, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The 2019 AP Defensive Player of the Year had yet to play a game this season as he started the year on the Physically Unable to Perform List.
In a follow up tweet, Schefter noted that one of the reasons for the release was the two sides could not agree to terms on a restructured contract. At 31 years of age, Gilmore is coming off probably his best stretch of football with three straight Pro Bowls, two All-Pro nominations in 2018 and 2019 along with the AP Defensive Player of the Year award in 2019.
Does this make sense for the Buffalo Bills?
The question now is whether or not the Buffalo Bills would be interested in bringing back their former starting cornerback. The Bills drafted Gilmore in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft and he would step in as the starter almost immediately. He steadily improve each season and made the Pro Bowl in 2016 as a member of the Bills.
However, he faced challenges in Buffalo and was part of the franchise when they were struggling to find their identity. Last year, Gilmore talked about why he felt his career really took off after joining the Patriots and he mentioned the fact the Bills were essentially getting new coaches every year and it was tough to find that consistency, according to PatriotsWire.
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Patriots to release Stephon Gilmore
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Patriots will release cornerback Stephon Gilmore. Gilmore had started the 2021 season on the PUP list after sustaining a quad injury toward the end of last season. Gilmore had been present in Foxborough through the start of the season, with teammates praising the help he was providing behind the scenes.
Schefter reported that the teams were unable to find common ground on a new contract, as Gilmore had expressed dissatisfaction with his deal as he entered the final year of a five-year, $65 million contract that he signed in 2017. With the release, the Patriots are projected to pick up over $5.8 million in cap space, some of which could possibly be used to secure Jamie Collins, who is reportedly in negotiations to return to the team for a third stint.
The Patriots’ current cornerback depth chart is topped by J.C. Jackson, Jalen Mills and Jonathan Jones, with JoeJuan Williams and rookie Shaun Wade serving in reserve roles. Jackson is due to hit free agency next offseason and with Gilmore no longer in the mix, there are some significant long-term questions surrounding the position group. Overall, the secondary was very good taking on Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, but the razor-thin depth remains a concern for the 2021 season.
Despite not having the lockdown corner, who fit perfectly into the Pats system, New England has played well through four weeks, ranking fourth against the pass and fourth in yards per play allowed. Now the Pats will move on for good.
Even at 31, coming off injury, Gilmore should have no shortage of suitors should he prove healthy. Rapoport reported Gilmore is basically healthy — underscoring that his absence was always more about the contract than injury.
Gilmore is a proven lockdown corner. Contenders like Kansas City, Tennessee, Tampa Bay, et al. should be lining up to ink him once he’s officially released.
NFL teams always need corners. It’s rare that a talent like Gilmore ever hits the open market. It’s even rarer that it’d come ahead of Week 5.
Stephon Gilmore
Stephon Stiles Gilmore is an American football cornerback for the Carolina Panthers for the National Football League (NFL).
Gilmore played college football for South Carolina and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills tenth overall in the 2012 NFL Draft.
After five seasons as a starting cornerback for the Bills and a Pro Bowl invite in 2016, Gilmore signed a 5-year, $65 million contract with the New England Patriots in 2017. He has since emerged as one of the league’s top defensive players, garnering three more Pro Bowl invites and first-team All-Pro recognitions in 2018 and 2019, as well as being named AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2019. In 2021, following an injury that had sidelined him for nearly a year, Gilmore was traded to the Panthers.