It’s not the biggest Patriots news of the day, but there is a significant development with one of New England’s star defensive players.
According to multiple reports, cornerback Stephon Gilmore will begin the season on the physically unable to perform list. That means Gilmore won’t be able to play for the first six weeks of the 2021 season, but also won’t count against the Patriots’ 53-man roster.
Gilmore has been recovering from surgery to repair his partially torn quad. He missed the last couple of games in 2020 with the injury. Head coach Bill Belichick said throughout training camp that the team was taking Gilmore’s injury situation “day by day,” but the cornerback was never able to practice.
During the offseason, Gilmore had also made it clear that he was unhappy with his contract. He’s due to make $7 million in base salary in 2021, but still showed up to camp and received positive reviews from his coaches for the way he helped his teammates in the building.
The 2019 defensive player of the year, Gilmore has been with New England since 2017 after beginning his career with five years in Buffalo. He has 25 career interceptions, 114 passes defensed, and six forced fumbles in nine seasons.