Stephon Gilmore is the hottest free agent on the market after his release from the New England Patriots. Which 5 teams should be immediately in the hunt for him?
Stephon Gilmore needs a new team after the Patriots cut the former Defensive Player of the Year.
Gilmore had started the season on the PUP list and was set to come back in the next few weeks, but after he and the Patriots couldn’t reach any middle ground on a restructured contract, Gilmore was released.
It’s unlikely that the rest of the NFL is just going to sit back on their laurels and watch Gilmore recover for the next few weeks. It’s likely that the market for him is going to be a frenzy. After all, he’s one of the best corners in the game when healthy.
Any team would be lucky to have him, and nearly every team will be on the hunt for him. But, at 31-years-old, it’s likely that Gilmore will want to go to a Super Bowl contender – so that limits the number of teams who can give him what he wants. It still leaves a number of teams who should consider signing him immediately, though. But who are they?
5. Kansas City Chiefs need Stephon Gilmore to get past Tom Brady
An obvious choice for any big-name free agent, especially when that free agent is an All-Pro caliber cornerback. The Chiefs’ defense has come under a lot of fire recently, metaphorically and literally. They’re currently giving up 437.8 total yards per game this season – the second-most in the NFL.
A large chunk of those yards are coming on the ground, but the Chiefs are still bottom 10 in passing yards allowed, and 31st in passing defense DVOA – only the 0-4 Jacksonville Jaguars are less efficient in that regard, and that’s alarming. Steve Spagnuolo’s defense is renowned for starting slow and finding a groove later in the season, but a 2-2 start with losses against the Los Angeles Chargers and Baltimore Ravens – along with strong starts for the Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos – means that there’s very little room for error from now until the end of the season.
L’Jarius Sneed and Charvarius Ward are fine starting cornerbacks, but the defense needs playmakers and another leader in the secondary. Gilmore is that guy.
