By Jordan Long
The New England Patriots are set to start training camp on July 28th. They look to rebound from a 7-9 record, their worst since 2000 when they went 5-11. One player would like to have a new contract, cornerback Stephon Gilmore.
Gilmore has been with the Patriots since 2017. His top year was in 2019 when he totaled 20 passes defended and 6 interceptions, 2 of them Gilmore took back for touchdowns. He also had 53 tackles.
Last year he had one of his worst seasons in recent memory. He appeared in 11 games. Gilmore missed 5 games due to a partially torn quad and was placed on injured reserved. Despite the injury, Gilmore was still able to show he was one of their top cornerbacks on the roster. He had 3 passes defended which were his lowest in his 9 year career. Gilmore could still tackle a runner in the open field with 37 tackles. He totaled 1 interception. Quarterbacks learned not to throw it his way because Gilmore was going to tip it away for an incompletion or pick the ball off. They were throwing away from him. The numbers might have been low, but he still made plays.
Gilmore knew heading into this year, he was playing on the last year of his deal which is going to pay him a base salary of $7 million. He would like more money. Gilmore even sat out mandatory minicamp. New England could have traded him to avoid the headache and have another team deal with him but decided it was best to keep him.
Gilmore is confident a new deal will be struck before training camp. They have a few weeks and talk should increase. If not Gilmore is going to sit out. New England doesn’t want that to happen.
Gilmore wants to be paid a fair market value. He will not be the highest paid cornerback in the league. That goes to Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey at $21 million. It could be in the ballpark of around $14 million to $16.5 million which would put him in the top ten paid cornerbacks in the league.
The problem with Gilmore wanting more money and a longer contract is the fact he missed some of the season last year. It seems like his quad is healthy and ready to go. What happens if he goes out and he hurts himself again even if it is not the quad but a torn ACL? It would be a waste of a year for New England. He is in a contract year. The best case for him is to play it out. He could earn himself a big payday with his play even if it is not with the New England Patriots.
Gilmore and New England will find middle ground. New England doesn’t want to play the first few games of the year without him because it hurts the secondary. Offenses could gain yards to march down the field to add points to the scoreboard which may increase their leads and could be a huge loss. A deal will be done soon. Otherwise, Gilmore’s days in New England are numbered. He could leave in free agency or New England could trade him during the year. Time will only tell what happens.
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