Two former first-round picks have come up in Patriots trade rumors this offseason, with N’Keal Harry‘s request following rumblings related to walk-year cornerback Stephon Gilmore. Harry appears to have a better chance to be out of Foxborough in the near future.
The third-year wide receiver generated trade interest earlier this offseason but has some dead money in his contract. Still, if the Patriots do plan to unload him, a source informs Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio a fifth-round pick may be in play. While that would be a value loss and add to the Bill Belichick-era Pats’ woeful record with highly drafted wideouts, the Pats have changed up their receiver room and may also be considering cutting Harry.
Although Harry is behind multiple free agents, with former UDFA wideouts also potentially having the edge on him for spots, Gilmore remains on track to be New England’s top cornerback in 2021. The All-Pro defender has expressed dissatisfaction with his salary, though his $7M figure is this low because of the Patriots moving money from 2021 to 2020 to appease their underpaid corner. But this process, Gilmore’s minicamp holdout notwithstanding, has not produced acrimony just yet.
The Pats, however, are not likely to give Gilmore a new contract ahead of the season, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe notes, adding that an incentive package similar to the ones the team gave Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski in 2018 makes more sense as a compromise. Gilmore’s 2020 play did not match his 2019 dominance — in a season that ended early because of a quadriceps tear and one that involved a COVID-19 contraction — and he will turn 31 in September.
New England should not be expected to pay Gilmore top-market cornerback money, and the corner’s camp identifying Darius Slay‘s Eagles extension (three years, $50.1M) may even be too much. Gilmore might not reach the $15-$16M-per-year range, Volin adds. It will be interesting to see, then, where the 10th-year veteran takes his holdout. The new CBA forces teams to dock players $50K for each training camp absence, and they are no longer allowed to waive fines after a player reports.
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