{"id":253853,"date":"2025-11-07T12:00:27","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T17:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=253853"},"modified":"2025-11-07T07:01:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T12:01:11","slug":"4-teams-could-pursue-stephon-gilmore-after-trade-deadline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/11\/07\/4-teams-could-pursue-stephon-gilmore-after-trade-deadline\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Teams Could Pursue Top Free Agent After Trade Deadline"},"content":{"rendered":"

The trade deadline is officially over, which means contending teams that didn’t add a cornerback could turn to a veteran like former Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore. While the Indianapolis Colts went for it all with the Sauce Gardner trade<\/a>, most contenders didn’t do too much to address the cornerback position. Gilmore is not the player he once was, but he was a solid starter for the Minnesota Vikings last year and expressed an interest in playing in 2025 during the offseason.<\/p>\n

4 Teams That Could Sign Free Agent Stephon Gilmore, Ranked<\/h2>\n

Fellow free agent Asante Samuel<\/a> is probably the crown jewel of the free agent cornerbacks now that he’s medically cleared to play. Seeing as he’s far younger, he deserves to draw most of the interest at this point in time. With that being said, Stephon Gilmore is a fine consolation prize for any team looking for a veteran cornerback to shore up the back end of a defense while pursuing a championship.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: Mark J. Rebilas – Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

4. Carolina Panthers<\/h3>\n

The Carolina Panthers already brought Asante Samuel in for a visit, so we know they’re in the market for additions to the secondary. While the former Charger is clearly their first choice, they should kick the tires on Gilmore to see if he has anything left.<\/p>\n

As 5-4, the Carolina Panthers find themselves in the thick of the Wild Card race. While they’re still on the outside looking in, they’re in the midst of their best season since the Cam Newton days. Jaycee Horn is justifying his contract<\/a> while Mike Jackson and Chau Smith-Wade do their parts, but it wouldn’t help to add another body to the depth chart. Stephon Gilmore may not have another Pro Bowl season in his tank, but the Carolina native should welcome the opportunity to bring his hometown team to the playoffs.<\/p>\n

\"Jaycee
Dec 22, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard (30) celebrates with guard Damien Lewis (68) and cornerback Jaycee Horn (8) and tight end Tommy Tremble (82) after scoring a touchdown to win the game in overtime at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

3. Baltimore Ravens<\/h3>\n

The Baltimore Ravens saved their season and, despite their 3-5 record, should consider themselves Super Bowl contenders. Lamar Jackson will ultimately determine this team’s ceiling, but he’ll need some help to erase Pittsburgh’s two-game lead in the division. While the offense has most of the pieces it needs to compete, the defense could use some work.<\/p>\n

Perceived to be a position of strength throughout the offseason, the Baltimore Ravens cornerbacks have not played up to their potential. 2024 first-round pick Nate Wiggins<\/a> isn’t a liability, but he hasn’t been anything special. Marlon Humphrey, meanwhile, is in the midst of a rough season as age appears to have caught up with the veteran. Stephon Gilmore is no spring chicken himself, but the veteran could add some much-needed depth to this unit.<\/p>\n

\"Ravens
BALTIMORE, MD – NOVEMBER 20: Marlon Humphrey #44 of the Baltimore Ravens defends in coverage during an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers at M&T Bank Stadium on November 20, 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

2. New England Patriots<\/h3>\n

Nobody in the world thought the New England Patriots would be tied for the best record in football through nine weeks of action. Yet, that’s exactly where we are, as quarterback Drake Maye is playing like an MVP<\/a> and head coach Mike Vrabel has the rest of the team playing sound football. While this team will make the playoffs barring a historic collapse, they could still use more talent to push for a deep run.<\/p>\n

The Patriots didn’t want to surrender draft picks at the trade deadline, but they should be open to signing Stephon Gilmore. After all, the cornerback will only cost money, and New England has plenty of salary cap space. Christian Gonzalez has battled injuries all year, and while Marcus Jones has been great, he’s only 5′-8″ and can’t hang with taller receivers. Free agent Carlton Davis, meanwhile, has been hit or miss throughout the season. Gilmore played his best football in New England and should welcome a reunion, even if there aren’t too many familiar faces around.<\/p>\n

\"3
Nov 2, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) passes against the Atlanta Falcons during the first half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

1. Dallas Cowboys<\/h3>\n

The Dallas Cowboys are 3-5-1, but the Quinnen Williams trade<\/a> shows this team still plans to push for the playoffs in 2025. Williams will go a long way in fixing an atrocious defensive line, but he can’t cover up every flaw on this defense. Dak Prescott is playing some of his best football (last week notwithstanding), and the Cowboys should win games if the defense can play at a remotely competent level.<\/p>\n

Stephon Gilmore spent the 2023 season with the Dallas Cowboys, and General Manager Jerry Jones should organize a reunion. Trevon Diggs is sidelined due to injury, and DaRon Bland, Reddy Stewart, and Kaiir Elam aren’t getting the job done.<\/p>\n

\"Stephon
Nov 30, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf (14) is tackled by Dallas Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis (2) and cornerback Stephon Gilmore (21) during the first half at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The trade deadline has officially passed, which means free agents like cornerback Stephon Gilmore could generate some interest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2376,"featured_media":251638,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6431,10,30,19,5],"tags":[7661,7638,1063],"class_list":["post-253853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-teams","category-ravens","category-panthers","category-cowboys","category-patriots","tag-panthers-featured","tag-ravens-featured","tag-stephon-gilmore"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2376"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253853"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253853\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":253854,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253853\/revisions\/253854"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/251638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}