Patriots reportedly trade star cornerback Stephon Gilmore to the Panthers

New England traded their former All-Pro to Carolina on Wednesday.

Update 10/6/2021: Patriots agree to trade Gilmore to Carolina Panthers

Following the news of his impending release, it was expected that teams would be interested in trading for the services of Stephon Gilmore, and that is exactly what the Panthers did.

The Carolina Panthers will send a 2023 sixth-round pick to New England in exchange for Gilmore, according to Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus.

Gilmore will return home to the Carolinas to play for his hometown team, while the Patriots will gain a draft pick as well as some much needed cap space to maneuver around for the rest fo the season.

Original Story 10/6/2021: Patriots reportedly release cornerback Stephon Gilmore

The Patriots are saying goodbye to their former Defensive Player of the Year.

The New England Patriots released Stephon Gilmore on Wednesday, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN, officially ending his run in New England that produced a Defensive Player of the Year award, two All-Pro selections, and a Super Bowl title.

Gilmore released a statement following the breaking of the news.

Gilmore, 31, signed with the Patriots on the opening day of free agency in 2017, inking a 5-year deal worth $65M. He immediately stepped into the #1 cornerback role over Malcolm Butler, and helped lead the Patriots to a Super Bowl appearance. In his second season, Gilmore and the Patriots returned to the Super Bowl, before he would go on to receive a pair of All-Pro selections and the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2019.

Gilmore was not on the Patriots active roster at the time of his release. Instead he was on the Physically Unable to Perform list, recovering from a quad injury that he suffered against the Miami Dolphins in Dec. 2020. He was eligible to come off of the list following New England’s Week 6 matchup with the Dallas Cowboys.

With contract issues dating back to the 2020 offseason, Gilmore and the Patriots had a fairly public stale mate over his pay. After missing a pair of practices during training camp in 2020, the Patriot gave him a pay advance of $4.5M prior to that season. That left Gilmore with a base salary of $7M in 2021, ranking him 24th amongst cornerbacks.

The Patriots’ cornerback depth chart currently features the likes of J.C. Jackson, Jonathan Jones, Jalen Mills, Joejuan Williams and late-summer trade acquisition Shaun Wade. Myles Bryant and D’Angelo Ross are also players who could see time at cornerback, but they are on the practice squad.