Will Patriots extend or trade Stephon Gilmore after free agency spending spree?

At this point, we simply cannot keep track of the New England Patriots‘ spending. Bill Belichick destroyed the competition and took advantage of the legal tampering period.

Now, one could suspect the Pats are gunning for a playoff spot and eyeing a deep run. Why else would they structure these contracts to put them in a favorable position for the next two years?

If you noticed, New England has an out after two years with just about every player they signed, just in time for the salary cap to balloon in 2023 so Belichick can do this all over again.

But the bigger issue that’s flown under the radar over the last week or so is what’ll happen with Stephon Gilmore.

He’s in the final year of his contract, and if reports have told us anything, it’s that he wants a new deal given his lowly base salary of $7 million.

Speculation has suggested he could be traded, but would the Patriots now consider keeping him around now that they’ve given themselves an advantageous two-year window to make some noise in the AFC?

Will the Patriots keep Stephon Gilmore on their new-look roster?

At this point, what else do the Patriots really need? They certainly don’t have a top-to-bottom juggernaut roster, but they filled most of the voids with their signings in free agency, and clearing another $6.9 million in space won’t exactly get them another All-Pro cornerback.

Don’t forget, Gilmore’s trade market has reportedly been complicated due to his season-ending quad injury in addition to his contract situation. What team will surrender a high draft pick for someone demanding a brand new contract that would presumably make him among the highest-paid cornerbacks in the NFL?

The best course of action at this point is to give the veteran a raise in 2021 and extend him through 2022 at a handsome price. That’ll get him off the books by 2023, when the Pats can do this free agency dance all over again.

This will maintain the status quo in the secondary — a unit that will be getting back Patrick Chung following his opt out. Additionally, Dont’a Hightower returning coupled with the signing of Matt Judon and others along the defensive line will greatly help the pass rush, and hopefully help this defense resemble the days of old.

Whatever cap space is remaining, there’s an argument to be had that the money should be given to Gilmore to make him happy, which will maximize this short-term window of contention that was created overnight.

Patriots: The complete breakdown of free agency moves and trades so far

The New England Patriots have opened up free agency by going ballistic. After making two trades and re-signing Cam Newton, they spent $46 million on Monday.