The Buffalo Bills entered the 2016 offseason with more free agents than any other team. The future of their quarterback, Tyrod Taylor, was uncertain. The wide receiving corps was decimated when both Robert Woods and Marquise Goodwin left in free agency. To stay under the cap, the Bills had no choice but to let these players walk. And that was also the case for cornerback stephon gilmore, whom Doug Whaley was unwilling to sign to a long term deal. In 2017 free agency, the New England Patriots chose to sign Stephon Gilmore to a long term deal.
Stephon Gilmore.
The Bills drafted Gilmore with the 10th overall pick in 2012 and have received mixed results from the cornerback. He showed promise in his rookie year and seemed to improve in subsequent seasons. Gilmore made his first Pro Bowl in 2016, a nice accomplishment, but one that might not have been deserved. In any case, Gilmore was regarded as one of the better corners in the league prior to the Patriots signing him in 2017.
Bills fans know better. Last season, Gilmore was consistently beat by wide receivers and didn't communicate effectively with fellow defenders. Part of the blame can be placed on Rex Ryan's system, but another part of the blame has to be put on Gilmore, who struggled to play his role in the defense effectively.
Terms of the Patriots Deal.
In the first two years of Gilmore's deal, the Patriots are guaranteed to pay out $32 million. The full terms of the deal are five years for $65 million, a large sum for a cornerback who wasn't really elite last season. The Patriots are praised for almost every move they make in free agency, simply because they are the Patriots.
But paying Gilmore the 8th highest salary of any cornerback seems like a mistake for a team that relies primarily on cheaper players who simply know how to get the job done.
New England knows that Brady only has a few years left to acquire Super Bowl rings, so they continue to add supporting pieces around him. The organization should still be wise with its money and avoid expenditures on players who will not be worth it in the end. Stephon Gilmore might be seen as one of the better defenders in the league, but he will be quickly exposed as a weak one on the New England Patriots.
