NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport shared an update Friday on the status of New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore.
Rapoport reported Gilmore is “recovering very well” from the partially torn quad that ended his 2020 season in December.
“But (his injury) does make doing something with him right now difficult,” Rapoport said on “NFL Now,” “because it would be a little bit of a speculation-type move based on how he’s recovering and all that. We thought (Gilmore) might be someone who a team could potentially trade for, now maybe someone New England locks in on a contract extension down the road. Still one of the best players in football regardless of position. So obviously, the Patriots still have some questions at corner.”
Gilmore is set to earn just $7 million in base salary this season after the Patriots borrowed from the final year of his contract last September to give him a preseason pay bump. That’s well below market value for a corner who was the 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year and has made the Pro Bowl in each of the last three seasons.
A recent report from Albert Breer of The MMQB indicated Gilmore “would be very open” to signing a contract extension with the Patriots, but it’s unclear where negotiations between him and the team currently stand.
Rapoport also touched on fellow Patriots cornerback J.C. Jackson, who signed his second-round restricted free agent tender Friday. The signing doesn’t guarantee Jackson will be on the Patriots’ roster this season, Rapoport said, as New England still could opt to trade him.
