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New England Patriots: Stephon Gilmore hopes to be in top cornerback duo

By Nick Ziegler

Aug 20, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore (24) catches a pass before the game against the New York Giants at New Era Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 20, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore (24) catches a pass before the game against the New York Giants at New Era Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports /
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Stephon Gilmore was one of the biggest acquisitions for the New England Patriots this offseason. In his first season, he has some big goals.

Coming into the 2017 offseason, there were few surprises bigger than Stephon Gilmore signing with the New England Patriots.

Historically, the Patriots don’t hand out big money to free agents. Especially ones that aren’t for there own. However, as the Patriots seek to repeat as Super Bowl Champions, they decided to open up their wallets for Gilmore.

If anyone thought that the Patriots were going to be giving a cornerback big money this offseason, they likely would have guessed it would have went to Malcolm Butler. However, Butler didn’t receive his big pay day yet. Despite a lot of trade rumors involving the New Orleans Saints, Butler wasn’t traded, and will be on the Patriots in 2017.

Last season, Butler was a very good cornerback for the Patriots. With the addition of Gilmore, the Patriots new cornerback hopes the new cornerback of the Patriots hopes to be part of one of the best duos in the NFL.

"“We just gotta go out there and prove ourselves every day; get better in practice you know?” Gilmore said via Connor Orr of NFL.com. “Every year it starts over and we gotta be hungry. We gotta go out there and prove to everyone in the league that we can play the game at a high level so I think if we do that, everything else will speak for itself.”"

Heading into 2017, Gilmore and Butler certainly have the potential to be one of the best duos in the NFL. While there are some great tandems in the NFL at cornerback, the Patriots might have one of the best.

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The addition of Gilmore should be an upgrade for the Patriots’ defense in 2017. This could be very troublesome for the rest of the NFL, as the Patriots already had one of the best defenses in the NFL last season.

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