FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots announced that they have traded CB Stephon Gilmore to the Carolina Panthers for an undisclosed draft pick. Gilmore was placed on the Reserve/PUP List on Aug. 31.
"I am grateful to Stephon Gilmore for his significant contributions to our team," said head coach Bill Belichick. "It was a privilege and pleasure to coach Steph. I appreciate him for the true professional and class act that he is and wish him all the best in the future. Following discussions over a long period of time, we mutually agreed to part ways today."
Gilmore, 31, signed with New England as an unrestricted free agent from Buffalo on March 10, 2017. The 6-foot-1, 202-pounder originally entered the NFL as a first-round draft pick (10th overall) by Buffalo in the 2012 NFL Draft out of South Carolina. Gilmore was named to three of his four career Pro Bowls during his time with the Patriots and was named the Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2019, after setting a career-high with six interceptions and returning two of the picks for touchdowns. Gilmore also helped secure the Patriots victory over the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII with an interception late in the fourth quarter.
Overall, Gilmore has played in 124 regular season games with 122 starts and has 411 total tackles, 25 interceptions, 114 passes defensed, seven forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. In addition, he has played in seven postseason games and has registered 19 total tackles, two interceptions and one forced fumble.
Last season with New England, Gilmore started in all 11 games that he played and totaled 37 tackles and one interception before suffering an injury at Miami on Dec. 20 that forced him to finish the season on injured reserve.
