New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore doesn’t think his relationship with the team is coming to an end, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Gilmore appears to be in the midst of a holdout with New England over the terms of his contract, a five-year, $65 million deal from 2017 which has him earning just over $7 million in 2021.
While the two sides have yet to reach a new agreement, Gilmore hasn’t given up hope.
“The Patriots and Gilmore know they can intensify contract talks sometime in the next few weeks,” Fowler said on “SportsCenter,” as transcribed by Bleacher Report. “And I’m told that Gilmore has largely not expected to be traded throughout this process because he knows the Patriots have made moves with Gilmore in mind.
“They haven’t gotten a cornerback to replace him. And as one source told me, ‘Do the Patriots really want to go into Week 4 against Tom Brady without their top cornerback?’ And so things are slow right now, but I expect those sides to ramp up negotiations sometime before training camp.”
The Patriots cornerback group includes Gilmore, J.C. Jackson, Jalen Mills, Jonathan Jones, Joejuan Williams and Myles Bryant, among others.
[listicle id=106058]