The New England Patriots and Stephon Gilmore reportedly are at a stalemate. For now, at least.
Anyone who follows football knew dating back to last year that a contract dispute between Gilmore and the Patriots was coming down the pike. New England gave the 2019 Defensive Player of the Year a well-deserved raise last season, but it was made possible by shaving money off his scheduled 2021 earnings. Gilmore, at present, is set to play for a base salary of $7 million this season, which obviously is well below his worth.
In his latest Monday Morning Quarterback column for Sports Illustrated, Albert Breer provided an update -- which really is more of a lack thereof -- on the status of negotiations between Gilmore and the Patriots.
"My understanding is there's been no recent progress toward either extending Gilmore, or giving him a raise for 2021, but that could change with people coming back off vacation in the coming days," Breer wrote.
Breer believes Gilmore's contract situation will be resolved in one of two ways. He could see the four-time Pro Bowl selection landing an extension similar to the three-year, $50 million ($30 million guaranteed) contract Darius Slay signed in March of 2020. Breer also isn't ruling out the possibility of New England adding achievable incentives to the final year of Gilmore's deal, similar to the route Tom Brady took for his final season in Foxboro.
We're in the midst of the idlest time of the football year, so Patriots fans probably shouldn't be concerned about the uncertainty still hovering over Gilmore. Breer, for one, believes the team and player will address the situation "soon."
