Stephon Gilmore has been on PUP for the first month of the 2021 season with a quad issue, so by rule he was eligible to rejoin the Patriots after missing the first six weeks of action.
But, that won’t happen now with news that New England and the former Defensive Player of the Year cornerback have “mutually agreed to part ways.”
That news that stunned fans and media alike Wednesday morning, also came as a surprise to Patriots players who were looking forward to getting back one of the best cornerbacks in the game and a respected teammate in the coming weeks.
“That’s one of my best friends. So obviously I was looking forward to it but it didn’t work out,” linebacker Kyle Van Noy told reporters at Gillette Stadium. “Knowing him, he’s arguably…to me he’s the best corner in the NFL, as well as Xavien [Howard] that’s my other guy. Disappointed.
But he’s going to bounce back. He’s elite at what he does. I’m looking forward to supporting him where he goes and plays a high level of football, like always.”
First-year Patriots tight end Jonnu Smith never played with Gilmore, but he was hoping to.
“Yeah. Everybody knows what he can do,” Smith said. “Absolutely.
But I don’t control what goes on. I just have to try and control what I can control and worry about what I have to worry about. But like I said, Steph’s a hell of a player. A great teammate to be around the past months I’ve been around him. I wish him the best of luck.”
Gilmore’s good friend Van Noy wasn’t willing to get into much more detail regarding just how jarring or surprising it was to see the Patriots move on from Gilmore, who’s been in contract negotiations with New England for more than a year.
“I’m going to stay away from that topic,” Van Noy said. “So if you want to talk about other things, I’m willing. But I’m going to stay away from that Steph topic out of respect for everyone.”