Stephon Gilmore's contract: How much will the Panthers CB earn in Carolina?
News broke early Wednesday morning that cornerback Stephon Gilmore and the New England Patriots were parting ways. After months of speculation of whether he would get a new contract or leave New England, a resolution was finally announced.
But, as with most headlines in the sports world, it's never that cut and dry and suddenly, the rumors of where he would sign would no longer come to fruition as the New England Patriots made a different move in Stephon Gilmore's departure.
How much will Stephon Gilmore make with the Carolina Panthers?
Gilmore was expected to become a free agent after 4:00PM EST on Wednesday but, just a few hours before that deadline, the script flipped.
Stephon Gilmore was traded to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for a 2023 sixth-round draft pick. Since Gilmore was traded, he will have to stay on the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list until Week 6. If he had become a free agent, he would no longer have been on the PUP list.
Patriots traded Stephon Gilmore to the Panthers for a 2023 sixth-round pick.
The Carolina native will now go play for his home team, who are in desperate need of help in the secondary. The Panthers made the recent acquisition of C.J. Henderson just last week, proving that Carolina seems to be "all in" this season.
It has been reported that the Panthers will pay the remainder of Gilmore's contract, which is $5.8 million for the rest of the 2021 NFL season. The Panthers won't be offering him a contract extension right away, but apparently Carolina and Stephon Gilmore are interested in negotiating a contract extension in the near future.
Stephon Gilmore and the Carolina Panthers are both open to him playing out the final year of his contract at $5.8 million, per sources. Talks on an extension could commence once situated but the team loosely expects him to play it out as of now.
This explains why it was a sixth-round pick in return for the former NFL Defensive Player of the Year because it seems that the Carolina Panthers will now take the salary cap hit instead of the New England Patriots.
Stephon Gilmore is satisfied with playing out the remainder of his contract this season with the Panthers and not with the Patriots. Apparently, Gilmore felt comfortable enough leaving New England. He is now back in his home state with a chance to possibly compete for another title in Carolina.
Gilmore will now continue to rehab from the torn quad surgery that he underwent this offseason. The PUP list status will give him an additional few weeks to learn from the Panthers playbook, get in "football shape" and get ready to take the field.
Also Check Out: Complete NFL Week 5 TV Schedule