The second and third waves of free agency are now upon us in the NFL. A good portion of the big money contracts have already been handed out as a vast majority of the top players remaining on the market right now are already on the wrong side of 30 or nearing that age. One team to keep an eye on in this period is the New England Patriots.
One of the best players remaining on the market is cornerback, Stephon Gilmore. He was one of the best overall players that were hitting free agency this year, but his age seems to be a determining factor in how slowly things are developing for him.
Gilmore tried to land a contract extension from the New England Patriots last year, but nothing came to fruition. He was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list to begin the 2021 season but was eventually traded to the Carolina Panthers.
He ended up playing in eight games with the Panthers, starting three of them and earning Pro Bowl honors as well. Gilmore showed that he had some juice left, intercepting two passes and defending two more.
As things stand right now, it seems as if the Panthers do not want to retain Gilmore. He was a good fit in Carolina and provided a veteran leader for young players in Jaycee Horn and C.J. Henderson to learn from.
Surprisingly, the Patriots are one of the teams that are showing interest in signing him. According to NFL Rumors on Twitter, the Patriots are one of five teams that are in on Gilmore. The other four are the Las Vegas Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles and Cincinnati Bengals.
The common theme among those five teams mentioned? They were all playoff teams in 2021, as Gilmore’s market looks to be contending teams looking for an established veteran instead of up-and-coming teams willing to pay a huge price tag.
New England could certainly use some help in their secondary after J.C. Jackson departed for the Los Angeles Chargers in free agency. The Chiefs are in a similar boat, as Chavarius Ward left in free agency to sign with the San Francisco 49ers.
Philadelphia has been in the market for a cornerback opposite of Darius Slay but could opt to continue building the roster up through the 2022 NFL Draft, where they have three first-round picks. It wouldn’t hurt the Bengals to push Eli Apple down the depth chart into more of a complementary role.
The Raiders have Desmond Trufant in free agency and lost Casey Hayward Jr., Brandon Facyson and Keisean Nixon to the Atlanta Falcons, Indianapolis Colts and Green Bay Packers, respectively.
