Patriots Rumors: Why didn’t Saints-Stephon Gilmore trade happen?

During the offseason, we talked about how the New Orleans Saints seemed like a logical landing spot for cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who wanted a new contract and seemingly wasn’t getting one from the New England Patriots.

Trade rumors persisted, but nothing happened, and there wasn’t much revealed in reports/rumors.

According to the latest buzz, however, the Saints actually did contact the Patriots about a Gilmore trade before they landed Bradley Roby from the Houston Texans.

Gilmore was placed on injured reserve at the 53-man roster deadline as he continues to recover from his torn quad from last season, and Pats fans won’t be seeing him until at least Week 7.

There was really no way for New England to part with Gilmore, avoid this IR stint and ensuing contract distraction, and just take less than they were expecting in a return for the star defensive back?

Stephon Gilmore trade rumors: Why didn’t Patriots pull the trigger?

Apparently not! NFL insider Ian Rapoport said the Saints “had eyes” on Gilmore but it didn’t get much further than that.

Though the veteran is helping out the Patriots week-to-week with his knowledge and mentoring, that’s not helping any of the other problems go away. Where’s his new contract? What’s his future with the organization? How effective will he be coming off a season-ending injury?

But it seems the Patriots “had their reasons” for hanging onto the All-Pro corner … and other teams weren’t exactly keen on the idea of striking a deal.

Here’s what Jeff Howe of The Athletic (subscription required) had to say about recent trade buzz surrounding Gilmore:

"“There are several reasons why a trade hasn’t made sense for any party. First, other teams have been reluctant to give the Patriots a high draft pick and then pay Gilmore – who turns 31 on Sunday and is in the final year of his contract – near top-of-the-market money. Big-money deals are widely considered the exception for cornerbacks on the wrong side of 30, and that reluctance was exacerbated with Gilmore missing all of training camp and the preseason.“Similarly, the Patriots haven’t been interested in just giving away the 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year who continued to play at a high enough level in 2020, according to league evaluators.”"

So it seems the Patriots still aren’t budging on their asking price … and it turns out the market is slim for an aging cornerback that’s going to require significant draft capital and a new contract that should make him among the highest-paid at his position in the league.

It’s a complicated situation, but the Patriots don’t seem to be doing themselves any favors. Could it be the shrewd decision, given all the factors working against them? Sure. But there’s still so much up in the air that’s serving as a distraction following one of their worst campaigns in recent memory.

Patriots trading for standout rookie CB puts Stephon Gilmore’s situation into question

The New England Patriots are reportedly trading for Baltimore Ravens cornerback Shaun Wade, who's been awesome during the preseason.