The Patriots clearly mishandled what has become an ugly breakup with Stephon Gilmore
Stephon Gilmore isn’t worth a sixth-round pick. He’s a former Defensive Player of the Year. He’s among the NFL’s best cornerbacks, even at 31 years old. It is plainly clear the New England Patriots bungled the situation with their top cornerback, leading to this bizarre breakup that ended with Gilmore being traded to the Panthers for a 2023 sixth-round pick.
Bill Belichick released a statement after deciding to “mutually part ways” with Gilmore. It was a public relations effort to help him avoid questions at the upcoming press conference while redirecting the conversation. The Patriots weren’t the only ones making things difficult, Belichick’s statement seemed to indicate. Gilmore was a part of the problem, the statement suggested.
Of course, they could have used their abundance of cap space to give Gilmore a raise in 2021 or an extension. They didn’t. Instead, they added a massive free agency class. Why not use some of that money for Gilmore?
“I’m not going to have any more comments on that right now. I already made them,” Belichick said.
And if the goal is to win, why trade Gilmore?
“Again, I’m not going to get into that right now,” Belichick said.
The real answer: Gilmore was aging. He was returning from a quad injury, which may have led him to lose a step. They couldn’t be sure if he’d be a top-five cornerback — and he was angling to get paid at that level. That’s why New England was hesitant.
The Patriots had wanted to see Gilmore on the field before giving him a raise. Gilmore wanted a raise before he returned to the field. Of course, now that the Patriots have traded him, Gilmore is willing to return to the field without a raise, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. So if it’s the Patriots, Gilmore won’t play without getting his cash. And if it’s for someone else, Gilmore is apparently willing to play. So it’s not all about the money. It might also be about sticking it to Belichick, who Gilmore wouldn’t even mention by name in his statement saying goodbye to the Patriots.
Considering the contract dispute, the injury and surgery and the team’s announcement that they would release Gilmore, it made sense that they got just a sixth-round pick. But there were some controllable factors that Belichick could have avoided to prevent the situation from getting this bad.
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