The past few weeks have been odd for Stephon Gilmore.
There were heavy talks about the New England Patriots trading the 30-year-old cornerback, and that same week, he sustained a knee injury that’s kept him out for three consecutive weeks. Considering the fact he hasn’t missed a game since 2017, it’s been a tough situation. Gilmore almost even missed a week earlier in the season due to contracting COVID-19.
Week 11 is here and the Patriots now need to make a decision if he’ll play against the Houston Texans. While asked why Gilmore wasn’t put on the injured reserve list, Bill Belichick gave further clarity on his status.
“I think if we would have known he would have been out for a certain period time then that would have been an option,” Belichick said. “But as I said, he’s worked hard to get back and he’s making good progress. We’ll see how things go here this week and next week and so forth and see where it takes us.”
Fortunately, Gilmore’s been putting in work behind the scenes.
“Steph was great on that,” he said. “Obviously he has a lot of experience and has played against the players we’ve played against the last few weeks: Buffalo, the Jets, and Baltimore. He’s very good. He prepares like he’s going to play and helps the other players that are going to play with things that he’s familiar with and can give guidance and can teach from. So, Steph works hard. He works hard to prepare himself, but he’s a good teammate and he works hard to help those, in this case, that were playing in his place.
“He’s well-respected and deservedly so because of his effort, his consistency, and his performance and preparation. And really knowing not only our game plan and what we want to do, but knowing our opponent and what their either individual or kind of team tendencies are, including the quarterback.”
The Patriots are now 4-5 after looking lifeless two weeks ago and Gilmore’s presence would be huge against Deshaun Watson. New England is fighting for a playoff spot and they’ll need their superstar corner if they’re going to pull it off.
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