Booger McFarland explains why Stephon Gilmore won't join his Buccaneers team after being released by the Patriots. (1:05).
FOXBOROUGH (Mass.) FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots have released Stephon Gilmore (four-time Pro Bowl cornerback), according to a source. This was after a dispute between the sides over a restructuring of their contract.
Gilmore sent a tweet Wednesday saying goodbye to Patriots fans.
Gilmore wrote, "We had so much success together and have been an incredible inspiration to my individual achievements." "... I want to thank Mr. Kraft, my coaches and the organization for giving me this platform and allowing you to make me a part of greatness. My teammates were there to support me with one goal every Sunday.
The Patriots had $54,000 less than the salary cap, and will now have $5.8 million more in cap space. In 2021, Gilmore's final season of his contract, he had a $7million base salary.
Gilmore was eligible for the physically unable perform list following Week 6. The market for the 2019 NFL Defensive Players of the Year is expected be strong. Many teams are likely to be interested in Gilmore, who should be fully recovered from his quad injury within the next few weeks.
Gilmore, 31, will be remembered for his late-game intercept of Jared Goff, which sealed the Patriots' Super Bowl LIII win.
In December, Gilmore had surgery to repair a torn quad. Gilmore had been present at the team's daily meetings, attended home games and voiced dissatisfaction with his contract.
He was on the $65 million, five-year contract that he signed in 2017 as an unrestricted and free agent with the Patriots. Although his base salary of $7million this season was below the market for a player his caliber, it was due to the team moving $5 million of his 2020 earnings.
Because of his contract, Gilmore had missed the Patriots' June mandatory minicamp. He tweeted one time a photo of the top 10 cornerbacks in the NFL, based on their average annual salaries -- which he wasn’t part of -- and said, "Oh ok."
"I want what I'm worth regardless of how it plays out. Each player should get paid what they are worth. "That's how it is," Gilmore stated to Josina Anderson, an NFL reporter, in July. "Hopefully, we can find common ground and get it settled."
J.C. Jackson, Jalen Mills and Jonathan Jones are the Patriots' starting cornerbacks. Jonathan Jones is their top option in that slot.
Joejuan Williams is the fourth depth chart pick. He is a Vanderbilt second-rounder in 2019. In a September trade with the Baltimore Ravens, the Patriots acquired 2021 fifth-round draft Shaun Wade. However, he has not yet been active in a game.
