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In a truly stunning move, the New England Patriots released former All-Pro DB Stephon Gilmore Wednesday morning. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the move was done because of financial and injury concerns. Gilmore had not played for the Patriots yet this season due to a quad injury, but when healthy he’s one of the best defenders in the entire NFL. While the Patriots might be done with Gilmore, there’s no question that he’ll get plenty of offers from other teams to join them for the rest of the season. Again, this is truly stunning that Gilmore has been released, even though the Patriots were reportedly trying to trade him over the summer.
As we usually do, we put together a list of six teams that absolutely need to make a run at signing Gilmore for the rest of the season. He’s still an elite talent at corner and can surely help a contender once he’s fully healthy.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs are the easiest place to start, because while they’re still very good, they have questions on defense. We all know what Patrick Mahomes and that offense can do on a weekly basis, but if they can’t stop anybody on the other side of the ball, it’s not going to matter. We’ve also seen the Chiefs be very aggressive with these types of moves, so it wouldn’t be any shock to see Gilmore wind up in KC.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs should probably be the betting favorite here. Not only do they have a massive need at cornerback due to injuries at the position, but we already know that when Tom Brady starts recruiting guys, they usually come to Tampa Bay. We saw it happen with Gronk and then Richard Sherman just last week. The Bucs have a stacked roster, but as we said, they have a ton of secondary health issues at the moment. Stephon Gilmore would be an immediate upgrade for that unit.
Green Bay Packers
The Packers are another NFC contender that could always use some help on the outside on defense. Even more so, it looks like they might be without Jaire Alexander for an extended period of time after he hurt his shoulder this past Sunday. That opens up a prime opportunity for Gilmore to step into a solid system in Green Bay and help out right away. This would also be a good look for the Packers to show Aaron Rodgers that they’re truly serious about winning and putting a championship team around him.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns have had one of the best defenses in the NFL to start this 2021 season. Myles Garrett is on an absolute tear and the entire group is wrecking havoc so far this year. While we still need to see if Baker and Odell get on the same page, this group adding an All-Pro player like Stephon Gilmore to play opposite Denzel Ward would solidify that defense in a major way.
Los Angeles Rams
This one is simple. Could you imagine a defense with Jalen Ramsey, Aaron Donald, and Stephon Gilmore? Talk about talent. We already know the Rams are one of the best teams in the NFL, but after getting gashed by the Arizona Cardinals over the weekend, it was evident that they should probably try and improve their defense a bit, especially with the tough schedule in that divison. This could be a perfect match for both Gilmore and the Rams. Imagine trying to throw on Ramsey and Gilmore while Aaron Donald is chasing you down. Good luck.
Dallas Cowboys
We all know how Jerry Jones rolls. He probably already put in a call to Stephon Gilmore’s reps. With the Cowboys vastly improved this season, especially on the defensive side of the ball, this would be a great landing spot for Gilmore. Just think about the havoc he could wreck playing opposite of young superstar Trevon Diggs, who is the early front-running for Defensive Player of the Year. This would be a classic Cowboys signing and to be honest, it makes a lot of sense.