The Buffalo Bills reportedly had interest in a very familiar former player.
The Indianapolis Colts signed cornerback Stephon Gilmore late last week. According to CBS Sports, Buffalo had interest in signing the 31-year-old, who was the Bills’ first-round pick back in 2012.
The Las Vegas Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams were also said to be involved.
In the end, the Colts gave Gilmore a two-year, $23 million deal. Of that, $14M is guaranteed.
Per Spotrac, the Bills have around $8M in salary cap space currently. Had they been interested, the price could’ve been a difference. The team has to save some of that space for their upcoming rookie class as well.
Gilmore previously played in Buffalo until 2016, skipping over to the New England Patriots, playing there from 2017 to 2020.
He was named a first-team All-Pro twice and won Super Bowl LIII with the Pats. Most recently, Gilmore played for the Carolina Panthers in 2021.
A desire to sign Gilmore makes plenty of sense for the Bills. With Tre White dealing with a knee injury still and Levi Wallace leaving during free agency, there is a need at the position.
The upcoming NFL draft looks to be a time where Buffalo will add at least one cornerback. Even then, the Bills likely need some more depth in the secondary via free agency. It just won’t include Gilmore.
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