Howe: Pats not close to trading Gilmore

[SHOWTIME15]

Sounds like Gilmore is on the market but the Pats have not been able to trade him...

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Baker Mayfield’s contract talks. Stephon Gilmore as a trade chip? What I’m hearing around the NFL

Mayfield and the Browns remain in a holding pattern with his contract extension. So far, each side has been comfortable with that approach.

theathletic.com

Corner still on the market​

Before the Patriots placed cornerback Stephon Gilmore on the reserve/physically unable to perform list last month, his name again arose in trade circles, according to a source.

It doesn’t sound like his name came up nearly as frequently as it did in 2020, though. The Patriots have never been close to trading Gilmore, according to another source.

There are several reasons why a trade hasn’t made sense for any party. First, other teams have been reluctant to give the Patriots a high draft pick and then pay Gilmore – who turns 31 on Sunday and is in the final year of his contract – near top-of-the-market money. Big-money deals are widely considered the exception for cornerbacks on the wrong side of 30, and that reluctance was exacerbated with Gilmore missing all of training camp and the preseason.

Similarly, the Patriots haven’t been interested in just giving away the 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year who continued to play at a high enough level in 2020, according to league evaluators.

Here’s what’s worth wondering: When the Patriots are negotiating with in-house free agents in the offseason – and the player believes he is worth more than they’re willing to pay – it’s not uncommon to tell the player to test the market and return with their best offer. (Sometimes, the strategy works. Sometimes, it doesn’t.)

So as Gilmore desires a raise, are the Patriots factoring in the lack of trade interest in their own line of negotiations? Are they taking a harder approach because they don’t believe Gilmore will get the deal that he covets? The Darius Slay comparison (three years, $50.5 million) has been floated multiple times.

Right now, those questions remain unanswered, but the dots are worth connecting.

 

[NewEraWithMac]

This just isn't surprising. He's on the PUP so they can bide some time to get a trading partner. All reports were he was running and able to move well enough to practice.

I would imagine this is a request by Gilmore after NE has rejected his contract extension offers. I guess we need to hope a team in the NFC loses a top flight CB here in the upcoming weeks.

 

[slash83]

Defense can’t afford to go the entire season without him. No other outside corner on the team outside of Jackson.

plus by the time he comes back there’s only like two weeks before the trade deadline. You think teams are going to trade for someone coming off an injury after only two games worth of tape on him? I don’t see it

 

[Kontradiction]

If they were going to trade him, it should have been midway through the 2020 season when it was clear the team was going nowhere. It makes zero sense to trade him now.

 

[Ryan]

Gilmore is one of the guys I feel like is worth just paying the man.

 

[goheels22002]

Defense can’t afford to go the entire season without him. No other outside corner on the team outside of Jackson.

plus by the time he comes back there’s only like two weeks before the trade deadline. You think teams are going to trade for someone coming off an injury after only two games worth of tape on him? I don’t see it

I disagree that the Patriots need Gilmore in the secondary. The defense always evolves over the course of the season with Belichick. The DBs are excellent, have a lot of speed and a great mix of youth and veteran leadership. Gilmore coming back takes snaps from their excellent young CBs.

It all comes down to what Gilmore's negotiating team is looking for right now. He might be worth more in a trade with a team with playoff aspirations than to pay him what he wants and throw the position group out of whack from a cap perspective. Gilmore is looking for a big signing bonus which means years on the cap, whether he sticks around or not. At 31 as a corner, a new deal is one of those long-term dead money situations that never work out. The Packers could use him, but they sunk all their dough in their game show host QB. 49ers would be a good landing spot.

Here's my guess, both sides find a middle ground in 10 days and Gilmore starts against the Buccaneers and their geriatric QB,

 

[PScottman]

Defense can’t afford to go the entire season without him. No other outside corner on the team outside of Jackson.

plus by the time he comes back there’s only like two weeks before the trade deadline. You think teams are going to trade for someone coming off an injury after only two games worth of tape on him? I don’t see it

So the alternatives are what exactly?

Pay him what he thinks he's worth ($ and years) - saddling the team with a contract that would likely significantly limit their ability to address other pending needs (like a HT and McCourty replacement for example)?

Trade him for (maybe even worse) crap return now (because now vs trade deadline doesnt make a difference - can he play or not remains an unknown given the injury)?

Put a gun to his head and tell him he signs a one-year team friendly deal or everyone he's ever known including himself get the Winter Hill Gang treatment?

Get the Delorean up to 88 mph and go back and trade him right after he won DPOY to get adequate compensation?

What's the better and most likely alternative?

The odds tend to favor trying to get what they can from him this year playing-wise and then recoup the compensatory pick when he signs his next deal as the likelihood of getting anything better than the compensatory is likely pretty low. Yes, he can hold out when PUP is over, but then he loses salary at that point which most players don't resort to. You also cant magically force someone else to give you a "good" trade for him.

 

[Wozzy]

They currently need a CB who can play man coverage a lot more than a pick… unless someone is offering a ridiculous Sam Bradford desperation trade and Shaun Wade is clearly a stud in practice.

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

As it stands now, the Pats will most liklely get a third round comp pick if Gilmore leaves in the off season. I doubt they will get much more for him if they trade him after week 6. Because whoever trades for him, would then have to pony up the money for a new contract.

So Hopefully, he "recovers" from this injury and comes back to play for the Pats this year.

 

[slash83]

Maybe

I disagree that the Patriots need Gilmore in the secondary. The defense always evolves over the course of the season with Belichick. The DBs are excellent, have a lot of speed and a great mix of youth and veteran leadership. Gilmore coming back takes snaps from their excellent young CBs.

It all comes down to what Gilmore's negotiating team is looking for right now. He might be worth more in a trade with a team with playoff aspirations than to pay him what he wants and throw the position group out of whack from a cap perspective. Gilmore is looking for a big signing bonus which means years on the cap, whether he sticks around or not. At 31 as a corner, a new deal is one of those long-term dead money situations that never work out. The Packers could use him, but they sunk all their dough in their game show host QB. 49ers would be a good landing spot.

Here's my guess, both sides find a middle ground in 10 days and Gilmore starts against the Buccaneers and their geriatric QB,

Maybe you have faith in Mills or Williams playing outside opposite of Jackson but I don’t. If they really want to make a push this year they need Gilmore at his usual role.

 

[slash83]

So the alternatives are what exactly?

Pay him what he thinks he's worth ($ and years) - saddling the team with a contract that would likely significantly limit their ability to address other pending needs (like a HT and McCourty replacement for example)?

Trade him for (maybe even worse) crap return now (because now vs trade deadline doesnt make a difference - can he play or not remains an unknown given the injury)?

Put a gun to his head and tell him he signs a one-year team friendly deal or everyone he's ever known including himself get the Winter Hill Gang treatment?

Get the Delorean up to 88 mph and go back and trade him right after he won DPOY to get adequate compensation?

What's the better and most likely alternative?

The odds tend to favor trying to get what they can from him this year playing-wise and then recoup the compensatory pick when he signs his next deal as the likelihood of getting anything better than the compensatory is likely pretty low. Yes, he can hold out when PUP is over, but then he loses salary at that point which most players don't resort to. You also cant magically force someone else to give you a "good" trade for him.

I don’t have the answer or a solution, just stating my opinion that they need him back if they want to make a legitimate push this year. I don’t have faith in Mills or Williams holding down the opposite side of Jackson.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

If they are going to trade him I would prefer it be for Michael Thomas. Not sure what his cap hit is (edit: $10 million this year), but it would firm up our WR corp at the expense of our DBs. Plus he's 4 years younger than GIlmore.

 

[jah]

If they are going to trade him I would prefer it be for Michael Thomas. Not sure what his cap hit is (edit: $10 million this year), but it would firm up our WR corp at the expense of our DBs. Plus he's 4 years younger than GIlmore.

Are you willing to give up at least a first round pick in addition to Gilmore? Because that trade is not happening if it's just player for player.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Are you willing to give up at least a first round pick in addition to Gilmore? Because that trade is not happening if it's just player for player.

If that's the case I'd rather just let Gilmore walk or trade him for something of lesser value. Keep the first round pick and draft Kaiir Elam.

 

[TheRainMaker]

I think Gilmore is exaggerating his injury and is really holding out. And he looked mentally checked out last year.

I think Bill wants to use the money on the younger Jackson, but he looks like the same player as last year. Not a #1.

 

[Bill Lee]

Defense can’t afford to go the entire season without him. No other outside corner on the team outside of Jackson.

That's a pretty short term view.

plus by the time he comes back there’s only like two weeks before the trade deadline. You think teams are going to trade for someone coming off an injury after only two games worth of tape on him? I don’t see it

I think having two games of film would mean a lot for whatever team would be bidding on him, including the Patriots. Tom Curran's theory is Gilmore's side is refusing to show anything because they know it probably will not be a great look for Gilmore.

Gilmore is one of the guys I feel like is worth just paying the man.

A few guys seem to be able to play deep into their 30s, but not many. Signing him to a contract for what he thinks he deserves is a huge risk, especially since the man has put nothing on tape since before his injury. Probably best to let him test the market in the off season and see what happens.

The odds tend to favor trying to get what they can from him this year playing-wise and then recoup the compensatory pick when he signs his next deal as the likelihood of getting anything better than the compensatory is likely pretty low. Yes, he can hold out when PUP is over, but then he loses salary at that point which most players don't resort to. You also cant magically force someone else to give you a "good" trade for him.

Nice post, I agree with most of it, but have some push back here.

The compensatory pick comes from the formula that weighs what FAs you sign vs what FAs you lose. I think we're still going to be adding FAs next off season, especially if we don't come to agreement with Gilmore, but also because we are still behind the talent curve in the division, so I don't think the comp pick is going to be something we can count on.

I'm preparing myself to see him in another uniform next season. I think Gilly falls into the category like Ty Law, Willie Mac, Lawyer Milloy, etc. They want another bite of the apple but BB isn't going to give it to him. I doubt anyone's going to offer us much of anything for a trade this season. In the end it'll be a lose-lose where Gilly has to play a few games to get his official season on the books, and he'll probably not look great since he hasn't been playing at game speed, but it is what it is.

 

[Brotherblues]

I disagree that the Patriots need Gilmore in the secondary. The defense always evolves over the course of the season with Belichick. The DBs are excellent, have a lot of speed and a great mix of youth and veteran leadership. Gilmore coming back takes snaps from their excellent young CBs.

It all comes down to what Gilmore's negotiating team is looking for right now. He might be worth more in a trade with a team with playoff aspirations than to pay him what he wants and throw the position group out of whack from a cap perspective. Gilmore is looking for a big signing bonus which means years on the cap, whether he sticks around or not. At 31 as a corner, a new deal is one of those long-term dead money situations that never work out. The Packers could use him, but they sunk all their dough in their game show host QB. 49ers would be a good landing spot.

Here's my guess, both sides find a middle ground in 10 days and Gilmore starts against the Buccaneers and their geriatric QB,

Who are these excellent young corners you speak of?

 

[Brotherblues]

As it stands now, the Pats will most liklely get a third round comp pick if Gilmore leaves in the off season. I doubt they will get much more for him if they trade him after week 6. Because whoever trades for him, would then have to pony up the money for a new contract.

So Hopefully, he "recovers" from this injury and comes back to play for the Pats this year.

From what I understand the comp is dependent on the deal he gets in the offseason. It's uncertain that at age 32 he gets a big enough contract to net us a 3rd (which is the highest comp).

 

[captain stone]

If they were going to trade him, it should have been midway through the 2020 season when it was clear the team was going nowhere. It makes zero sense to trade him now.

Yep, that certainly would've been in the best interest of the T-E-A-M...but Halas & Shula are within reach, so...

 

[captain stone]

...The DBs are excellent, have a lot of speed and a great mix of youth and veteran leadership. Gilmore coming back takes snaps from their excellent young CBs.

Your enthusiasm for our secondary is not shared by everyone...including me.

It all comes down to what Gilmore's negotiating team is looking for right now. He might be worth more in a trade with a team with playoff aspirations than to pay him what he wants and throw the position group out of whack from a cap perspective. Gilmore is looking for a big signing bonus which means years on the cap, whether he sticks around or not. At 31 as a corner, a new deal is one of those long-term dead money situations that never work out. The Packers could use him, but they sunk all their dough in their game show host QB. 49ers would be a good landing spot.

No argument here.

Here's my guess, both sides find a middle ground in 10 days and Gilmore starts against the Buccaneers and their geriatric QB,

He's on the Reserve/PUP list and must miss at least the first 6 games.