WHAT WOULD GILMORE WHAT WOULD GILMORE
Will take time to groom rookie into shutdown corner
The Patriots methodically attacked free agency, making a number of significant moves with the hope of returning to contender status.
There could be more fireworks to come in or around the NFL Draft, which is now two and a half weeks away.
It’s pretty clear Bill Belichick, who turns 69 on Friday, doesn’t want to engage in a long-term rebuild. He wants to get back in the winner’s circle sooner, rather than later.
To that end, trading Stephon Gilmore makes no sense. His status and contract remain one of the to-do items on the Patriots’ offseason list.
Extending his deal, which expires after this season, would seem like the way to go for several reasons.
First, as one of the premier corners in the league, it’s rather doubtful Gilmore would want to play for just $7 million, which is his base salary this year. That figure is also $13 million shy of Jalen Ramsey’s average annual salary, as the NFL’s highest paid cornerback.
Gilmore probably wants and expects something to be done especially in wake of Belichick opening up the purse strings for others in free agency.
The Patriots, meanwhile, know they’re going to have to deal with Gilmore one way, or the other. When they bumped his salary up by $5 million last year, it was understood another adjustment would be needed going forward.
Second, and most important, the Patriots need to have a shutdown corner to play defense the way Belichick likes to play defense. More to the point, they need a shutdown corner in order to seriously contend.
Obviously, a quarterback would help, too. But let’s focus on the defense for this exercise. Belichick is at his best scheming and plotting to stifle high powered offenses with a true shutdown corner in tow.
Over time, we’ve seen how much a top corner can influence a game with Ty Law and Darrelle Revis, as well as Gilmore. It’s no surprise all three have been part of championship teams.
J.C. Jackson, while good, didn’t distinguish himself in the top role during the games Gilmore missed last season. He seems best slotted in the No. 2 role at this point.
As for the rest, Jonathan Jones, who is the only corner under contract beyond this season, is very good in his role as the slot corner, and occasional safety. He’s not a top gun, however.
Same with Joejuan Williams and Myles Bryant, who are hybrids who seem best suited for specialty roles.
Perhaps the Patriots draft a top corner in the first round, be it Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II, South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn or Virginia Tech’s Caleb Farley. If that happens, it will still take a bit of time for that rookie to evolve into the team’s next shutdown corner to follow Gilmore.
So it behooves the Patriots to fish, and not cut bait with Gilmore. Given that, what would an extension for the former NFL Defensive Player of the Year look like?
What would be considered fair and reasonable for the cornerback, who turns 31 in September?
The Patriots won’t want to go long-term, that’s almost a given. So maybe a two-year extension on Gilmore’s current deal, in the neighborhood of $35 to $38 million, would suffice, or at least, be in the ballpark.
Lumping this year’s salary in the mix, he’d average around $14-to-$15 million per season over the course of the next three years, with the Patriots having him under contract through the 2023 season. If the guaranteed money comes early, the third year could be a parachute for both sides.
That type of extension would place him just under Miami’s Xavien Howard, who is the sixth-highest paid corner at an average of $15.05 million, and on par with Baltimore’s Marcus Peters, who is at No. 8 at $14 million, if it’s at the low end.
To put it in further context, this deal is also in the realm of the 5-year, $65 million deal he originally signed with the Patriots as a free agent in 2017.
Now, if Gilmore remains for the length of the deal, he’d be 33 going into his age-34 season when the contract expires.
Just for a few reference points, Law was 35 when he retired. Revis was 32.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft, speaking with the media 12 days ago, wouldn’t say if there had been any contract talks ongoing with Gilmore, who was reported to be open to discussions for a new deal.
“We’re lucky to have Stephon Gilmore. He’s a tremendous player for us, a great person. … And he’s just so gifted,” said Kraft. “So he’s under contract with us, and we’ll see what happens.”
It’s possible the Patriots might only want to keep Gilmore for the final year of his deal this season, and then move on. If that was the plan, it would also behoove them to select one of the best corner prospects in the draft as the likely successor.
Again, Gilmore might not be inclined to play nice at the $7 million figure for one season. Like last year, coming off his NFL Defensive Player of the Year laurels, he might balk until getting his deal sweetened.
“He’s not taking a pay cut, I can tell you that right now,” said SiriusXM NFL analyst Solomon Wilcots when reached last week. “If the Patriots want to keep him, he’s probably not going to take anything less than $15 million (per season).”
The leverage the Patriots have on Gilmore is his age, and the fact he’s coming off the partially torn quad injury that ended his season, and required surgery. He might be perfectly fine in 2021 and beyond, but that also factors in.
Wilcots understands the need to hold onto a player like Gilmore, he just wasn’t sure if the Patriots would go for a multi-year extension. He thought the Pats would make another adjustment on this year’s figure, and have him play out the contract. They would also draft his eventual successor, especially if Surtain, who is Nick Saban’s guy at Alabama, falls
into their lap at No. 15.
“Personally, I can see them letting Gilmore play out (the final year),” said Wilcots. “As much as they might want to keep him, I’m not sure Bill wants to pay the number (it would take) to do so, especially at Gilmore’s age. Bill will probably offer one year at $10 million, and think that’s a bargain for him, and Gilmore should take it.
“But I can also see them drafting someone,” Wilcots went on. “If Surtain is still there when they go on the clock, that solves the problem, and he can still keep Stephon for one more year.”
Maybe that’s the way it will ultimately go. But given all the dynamics at play, it also wouldn’t be surprising to see Gilmore here beyond 2021.
House stands by Cam
Tom House, a former MLB pitcher and throwing mechanics coach most noted for working with Tom Brady,
sees a light at the end of the tunnel for Cam Newton.
House had previously worked with Newton in Carolina and said in an interview with NBC Sports Boston’s Patriots Talk Podcast, he believed the quarterback’s biggest problem last year may have been the Lisfranc injury that eventually ended his 2019 season.
“I think his foot injury bothered him more than his shoulder injury,” House explained. “These athletes throw with their feet. The quicker their feet, the quicker their release. He went through a full year where he couldn’t step and throw without pain in his foot.”
House said he thinks with Newton operating in a normal training camp, he should improve in 2021.
“What people don’t realize is Cam has been injured,” House said. “He hasn’t had the ability to work on mechanics like he should or could have because his
health was an issue. And what you saw with the pandemic and all the upheaval and weird things that were going on with the day-to-day process, he probably didn’t have the time, or what I would say — his efforts had to be directed toward just plain competing.”
Hoyer visits Jets
With the Jets focused on drafting their next franchise quarterback with the No. 2 pick in the upcoming draft — BYU’s Zach Wilson the odds-on favorite — it makes sense for them to plug in a veteran backup.
To that end, Gang Green interviewed former Patriots backup Brian Hoyer on Thursday, a league source confirmed.
Hoyer has some familiarity with the coaching staff, as well as the Jets offense. He was with the 49ers in 2017 when current Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur was
the passing game coordinator. Jets head coach Robert Saleh was also the defensive coordinator of the 49ers, so he also has a pretty good idea what Hoyer brings to the table.
Seems like a good match. Hoyer is a good mentor for young quarterbacks. We’ll see if the Jets become his eighth NFL stop to go along with the Patriots, Colts, 49ers, Bears, Texans , Browns and Cardinals.
Draft tidbits
Ohio State’s second Pro Day is set for Wednesday. Those who didn’t attend quarterback Justin Fields’ first pro day on March 30 will have a second chance to watch him throw live, as he’s expected to participate.
Several teams, including the 49ers, who own the No. 3 pick, and the Patriots, had their top people at Mac Jones’ Pro Day in Alabama during Ohio State’s initial
day. While there were personnel on hand from both teams, no doubt Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch from the Niners, and or Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels from the Patriots would like to watch Fields in person.
While it was interesting to hear Saban say neither Shanahan nor Lynch spoke to him about Jones specifically, don’t read too much into that.
The 49ers are doing their best to keep their quarterback choice under wraps.
Patriots working for greater cause
In his spare time, Bill Belichick’s right-hand man Berj Najarian, the director of football/head coach administration for the Patriots, has used his platform to champion Armenian-related causes.
In January, he raised money for the Armenians impacted by the drone attacks by neighboring Azerbaijan.
Najarian wore cleats promoting Armenian relief that pulled in the highest donation in the history of My Cause, My Cleats, raising more than $40,000.
Of late, Najarian is also raising awareness about the Armenian Genocide, which took more than a million lives.
Last week, he took to Instagram to post a challenge for people to recognize the Armenian Genocide with a call to action.
Najarian’s post was supported and promoted by several members of the Patriots organization including defensive assistant Jerod Mayo, center David Andrews, linebacker Chase Winovich, long snapper Joe Cardona and quarterback Jarrett Stidham, just to name a few.
“The encouragement from ownership, coaches, players and support staff to use our platforms and raise awareness for important issues, particularly ones of human rights and social justice, is incredible,” Najarian said, via email. “These issues remain on the front burner for all of us and to be part of a group that is always uplifting each other is pretty special. There are many examples with the latest being Joe Cardona, Jerod Mayo, Chase Winovich and others reposting my call to action at anca.org/genocide.”
In 2019, the U.S. Congress passed legislation to formally recognize the genocide and mass killings of Armenians a century ago. Political motivation, however, has prevented wider recognition.
Said Najarian: “Even though the United States Congress has fully and formally recognized the Armenian Genocide as a known historical event with perpetrators and victims, it is long overdue for our executive branch to do the same thing. … I am going to continue my effort to raise awareness as long as it takes.”