By all accounts Stephon Gilmore has enjoyed his time in New England and wouldn't mind staying, but there is an issue relating to his contract.
The 30-year-old cornerback received a raise prior to last season, but the money was taken from this season. Therefore, Gilmore is only scheduled to make a little more than $7 million in 2021, which seems a bit low for the 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Appearing at the Burlington Mall for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Karma, an Asian fusion restaurant that now has four Massachusetts locations, alongside Burlington police and firefighters, Gilmore was asked several questions about his future with the Patriots.
“That stuff will play out as it will,” he said, via Ben Volin of The Boston Globe. “I just try to take it day by day, and that’s all I can do.”
Gilmore, who could certainly receive a contract extension at any time, knows it's not up to him.
“You’ve got to leave it in their hands,” he said. “Of course, I know what type of player I am, what type of person I am. I let everything lay on its own.”
Gilmore added: “It’s out of my control. I’m just happy to be a Patriot right now, and see how it goes.”
The cornerback will be a free agent after the season.
Another possibility is he could be traded, but quad surgery at the very end of last season could complicate matters.