While most of the globe will have its eyes on the United States Presidential Election today, the pro football world will have a different major event coming up: the NFL trade deadline will come up at 4 pm. And as is the case seemingly every year, the New England Patriots are in the spotlight once again as a potentially active team.
Cornerback Stephon Gilmore in particular is worth keeping an eye on, after the rumor mill started working tirelessly as of late. If teams want to lure the league’ reigning Defensive Player of the Year from the Patriots, however, they will reportedly have to pay a steep price as ESPN’s Dianna Russini reported on Tuesday morning: New England is looking for a first-round draft pick and a player in a potential trade involving Gilmore.
“After speaking with a few GMs around the NFL, I’ve learned multiple teams who have called the Patriots about Stephon Gilmore were told by New England they want a first round pick and a player in exchange for the 2019 AP Defensive Player of the Year,” she revealed via Twitter eight hours before the deadline.
Through seven games this season, Gilmore has again played an integral role in the Patriots’ defense: he appeared in all six games to start the season and even after getting diagnosed with the Coronavirus ahead of the original Week 5 date set for the game against the Denver Broncos was on the field for 365 of a possible 370 defensive snaps. However, a knee injury forced him to miss the Week 8 contest against his former team, the Buffalo Bills.
When Gilmore is in the lineup, though, he is New England’s number one cornerback. And even though his play may not be as impressive as it was during his outstanding 2019 campaign, the 30-year-old is still a top-tier cornerback and as such has value to the Patriots — but also to teams looking to upgrade their secondaries with an elite player.
His name coming up in trade talks is therefore no surprise, especially considering that this is not a first: rumors about a potential trade involving Gilmore first popped up during the summer, after New England reportedly had talked to teams earlier in the year about him. No trade materialized, however, and instead the two sides agreed to a pay-raise for the 2020 season with Gilmore’s salary increasing from previously $10.5 million to $15.5 million while also he also got a chance to earn an additional $2 million through some new incentives.
Even with the reworked contract, though, teams are expressing interest in Gilmore. The question is whether or not one of them will eventually meet the Patriots’ demands.