FOXBORO -- Stephon Gilmore didn't have to wait for the announcement on Tuesday night. He got a call.
Checking in with the news that Gilmore had made his second Pro Bowl was Bill Belichick. The coach's message? Typically brief.
"Bill called me," Gilmore said. "Told me, 'Congrats. Get ready for work this week."
Gilmore has established himself as one of the best man-to-man corners in the league in 2018, seeing 77 targets and allowing 38 completions. He has two picks and 13 pass breakups, and he's allowed a quarterback rating on passes thrown his way of 77.6.
Houston's DeAndre Hopkins, Kansas City's Sammy Watkins, Chicago's Kevin White, Green Bay's Davante Adams, Minnesota's Stephon Diggs and Pittsburgh's Antonio Brown have all seen shadow coverage from Gilmore over the course of the year and were held in check.
Fans, players and coaches took notice, voting him back to the Pro Bowl for the second time in three seasons. He was last honored in 2016 as a member of the Bills.
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"It's big," Gilmore said of the support from his peers. "Sometimes you don't get those votes. Sometimes you do. You just try to handle your business on the field.
"As long as your teammates respect you, that's really what matters to me. It is an honor to be voted to the Pro Bowl, but that's not gonna help me this week. Going against Buffalo so that's what I'm looking forward to."
Spoken like the coach who called him with the news in the first place.
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