Stephon Gilmore has taken an adventurous path. He spent five seasons with the Buffalo Bills and four with the New England Patriots, but in the last three years, he’s played for the Carolina Panthers, the Indianapolis Colts, and the Dallas Cowboys.
There may also be a reunion in the works. Carolina is thin at cornerback and did not address the position during the first two days of the draft. The Minnesota Vikings and Las Vegas Raiders should also pick up the phone.
Gilmore should be a guaranteed starter wherever he ends up. He allowed 6.9 yards per target with Dallas in 2023, his poorest number in the last six years — and it’s still pretty darn good.
Stephon Gilmore would upgrade the Vikings secondary. Gilmore, who will be 34 in September, has played 12 seasons in the NFL. Over that time, he has five Pro Bowl appearances and two first-team All-Pro selections. In 2019, the cornerback won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award.
Gilmore completed the second season of his two-year, $20 million contract with the Cowboys in 2023. Spotrac estimates his market value at $9 million over a new one-year contract, which would be a huge value for the Vikings, who had just under $16.7 million in salary cap space for the 2024 season as of Sunday.
Gilmore has 140 pass breakups, 31 interceptions, and 7 forced fumbles in 165 career games (158 starts), according to Pro Football Reference.
Stephon Gilmore isn’t the only high-end cornerback still available in free agency.
Gilmore isn’t the only well-known cornerback currently looking for a home as April turns into May. Kenyon also mentioned Minnesota as a possible destination for former Miami Dolphins defensive back Xavien Howard, whom the team dismissed last offseason in order to save $18.5 million against the salary budget.
The Vikings are likely to be interested in one, or both, of the two highly regarded cornerbacks for two reasons. First, Minnesota was 24th in the NFL against the pass last season, allowing opponents 3,986 yards via the air.
Second, according to Pro Football Reference’s (PFF) advanced analytics, the Vikings’ two starting cornerbacks, Byron Murphy Jr. and Akayleb Evans, performed considerably below average last year. The two players placed 87th and 99th among 127 NFL cornerbacks who played enough snaps last season to be ranked. Aside from that, Murphy has only one year left on his current contract, while Evans has only two seasons left on his rookie deal.
Minnesota chose Mekhi Blackmon out of USC in the third round last season before selecting Khyree Jackson out of Oregon in the fourth round on Saturday. While one or both could grow into long-term solutions for the Vikings, relying on them as regular starters in 2024 could be dangerous.
The Vikings also signed veteran defensive back Shaq Griffin to a one-year contract in the offseason, but it’s evident they could require more help in the secondary before the 2024 season begins in a little more than four months.
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