New England Patriots: Stephon Gilmore named a poor free agent signing
By Nick Ziegler
Recently, OverTheCap.com named the 30-worst signings of the 2017 offseason. Did any of the signings made by the New England Patriots make the list?
With the offseason almost here for the New England Patriots, OverTheCap.com recently took a look back at some of the worst signings of the last offseason. Generally, the Patriots do a good job avoiding lists like this. However, they did see their big signing make the list.
Possibly to the surprise of some, Jason Fitzgerald of OTC named Gilmore as the 26th worst signing of the offseason. Gilmore was one of the biggest signings of the offseason, as he was regarded as one of the top defensive players available.
It is very uncommon to see the Patriots make big splashes like the Gilmore signing was. However, it wasn’t smooth sailing for Gilmore for the entire 2017. To start the season, Gilmore had a hard time adjusting. Since he was paid so much money, the lackluster start is probably one of the reasons why he made the list. Here is what Fitzgerald had to say about the signing of Gilmore.
"Earlier in the year, this looked like a lock for top 5 worst deals of the year but Gilmore played better as the year went on. Still, the Patriots had to be looking for more than what they have so far when they signed Gilmore to what was clearly the top free agent cornerback contract in 2017."
Seeing Gilmore make this list was a bit surprising, as he was graded as the 7th best overall cornerback in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus. Even though he received a big contract, being a Top 10 cornerback in the NFL certainly makes the contract worth it.
However, the poor performances early in the season did make it look like Gilmore was heading toward being a bust. But as shown later in the season and in the playoffs, Gilmore was a true No.1 cornerback.
Next: Ranking 5 most disappointing playoff performers
While Gilmore was ranked near the bottom of the list, it was surprising seeing him being listed near players like Brandon Marshall, Terrelle Pryor, and Latavius Murray. Compared to those players Gilmore was much better than all three. Even though Gilmore was making more money per year than them, he was clearly more productive on the field.
Even though it wasn’t a perfect season for Gilmore, he wasn’t deserving of being on this list.