Stephon Gilmore wasn’t present for the start of New England’s mandatory minicamp on Monday, suggesting the former Defensive Player of the Year is willing to play hardball with the Patriots in pursuit of a new contract. Bill Belichick isn’t the type to bend to a player’s will, even when that player is a four-time Pro Bowler who led the league in interceptions as recently as 2019, meaning the two sides could be headed for a lengthy and bitter standoff.
With Gilmore, who is in the final year of a five-year, $65-million deal, displaying all the familiar symptoms of a disgruntled employee, would the Patriots consider shopping their prized cornerback? Jalen Ramsey, who fled Jacksonville under similar circumstances in 2019, took to Twitter Monday, expressing that if Gilmore wants out of New England, the Rams would welcome him with open arms.
Though Los Angeles isn’t exactly flush with cap space at present ($6.97 million available in spending money), adding Gilmore to what was already the league’s top defense would make the Rams instant Super Bowl contenders, if they weren’t already. In making his pitch to Gilmore, Ramsey invoked Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts, who followed a similar arc, winning a World Series in Los Angeles after beginning his career in Boston.
Unfortunately for the Rams, they don’t have a first-round pick to offer until 2024 after going all in for Matthew Stafford this offseason. Even though we’ve seen players like Julio Jones and DeAndre Hopkins get traded for pennies on the dollar, it’s hard to see the Pats selling low on Gilmore, one of the most dominant DBs in recent memory and a key contributor to New England’s Super Bowl team (they beat Los Angeles for the title, ironically enough) in 2018.
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