Cowboys cornerback Stephon Gilmore has had one foot out the door this entire NFL offseason, with the free agent seemingly the odd man out in a Dallas secondary that’s set to include Trevon Diggs, DaRon Bland, and Jourdan Lewis.
Now it seems the five-time Pro Bowler may be going to Carolina in more than his mind, possibly returning there for the third time in his football career.
The Carolina Panthers have reportedly reached out to the 33-year-old about donning the teal and black once again in 2024. Gilmore previously starred for the Panthers for a portion of the 2021 season, and he played collegiately at the University of South Carolina in his home state.
Panthers have reached out to free agent CB Stephon Gilmore about a possible return to Charlotte, per league source.
Gilmore, who went to same HS as Jadeveon Clowney, made Pro Bowl w/ CAR in 2021 and has continued to play well into his 30s.— Joe Person (@josephperson) March 26, 2024
Gilmore spent the 2023 season as a Cowboy, starting all 17 regular-season games. Originally thought to be the team’s CB2 behind Diggs, Gilmore’s role increased when Diggs was lost for the season to injury. His veteran presence on one side of the defense may have prompted opposing quarterbacks to test second-year man Bland, who responded by leading the league in interceptions and setting a new single-season record for pick-sixes.
With Diggs set to return opposite the Fresno State phenom, Gilmore may now be expendable in 2024, depending on how one interprets recent comments from Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones.
“We think a whole lot of Stephon,” Jones said this week from the league meetings in Orlando. “Obviously, with Bland stepping up and us re-signing J-Lew, and of course having Diggs coming off that injury, there’s another- really- a great football player that we’re allocating a lot of our cap resources to that didn’t play much last year, and here we’re going to have him back and ready to go. It’s just having to pick and choose where you want to use your resources.”
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Jones, perhaps notably, went on to refer to Gilmore in glowing past tense.
“Stephon was- not only was he really good for us on the field, but I’d say a better guy off the field in terms of how he goes about his business, being a pro, helping the young guys in the room. So, look forward to- hope things go well for him. He was nothing but very productive for us, and you don’t ever rule that out, either.”
Gilmore is one of the top free agents still available this offseason, with 561 tackles and 31 interceptions logged over 12 NFL seasons for five different teams.
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