Getty Dallas Cowboys cornerback Stephon Gilmore.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the type of team that might be just one or two pieces away from becoming a Super Bowl contender thanks to a deft draft and an offseason spent signing the team’s best players to new contracts and contract extensions.
One position where there is some uncertainty is at cornerback, where Jamel Dean seems like he could be a breakout star in his fifth season but 2022 fifth-round pick Zyon McCollom is largely unproven at the other cornerback spot.
Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder thinks one way the Buccaneers could ensure the position doesn’t become a liability is by signing free agent Stephon Gilmore, the 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
The Buccaneers are trying to win their fourth consecutive NFC South Division title and open the regular season on Sept. 8 at home against the Washington Commanders.
“The Buccaneers could use another corner to play on the other side of Jamel Dean,” Holder wrote. “Gilmore is arguably the best player at the position available right now and would likely be interested in joining the club to make one more run at a Super Bowl. That would give the team’s defense a quality secondary heading into the fall.”
Gilmore, a 12-year NFL veteran, played for the Dallas Cowboy in 2023.
Gilmore Could Be Future Pro Football Hall of Famer
Gilmore, 33 years old, has been one of the NFL’s elite shutdown cornerbacks since he was drafted by the Buffalo Bills out of South Carolina with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft.
Gilmore made his first Pro Bowl with the Bills in 2016 then signed a 5-year, $65 million free-agent contract with the New England Patriots in 2017. He earned his first NFL All-Pro nod in 2018 as he helped lead New England to a Super Bowl win over the Los Angeles Rams and in 2019 he became the first cornerback since Charles Woodson in 2009 to be named NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Gilmore was traded to the Carolina Panthers in 2021, signed a 2-year, $20 million contract with the Indianapolis Colts in 2022 and was traded to the Cowboys in 2023. Wherever he plays in 2024, it will be his fifth team in five years.
On this day in 2019, Stephon Gilmore sealed the Patriots 6th Super Bowl with a clutch interception against the Rams.
The elite CB had three pass breakups and an INT in man coverage vs the number one reciever on the 13th highest scoring offense in NFL History.
Buccaneers Traded Starting CB in Offseason
The Buccaneers traded one of their starting cornerbacks from 2023 in the offseason, when they shipped Carlton Davis III to the Detroit Lions in March 2024 along with two sixth-round picks in exchange for a third-round pick.
Tampa Bay used that pick on Washington wide receiver Jalen McMillan, who could be the team’s third option at wideout behind veterans Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
Another reason Gilmore could thrive in Tampa Bay is the talent already in place in the secondary.
The Buccaneers gave NFL All-Pro free safety Antoine Winfield Jr. the biggest contract for a defensive back in NFL history in the offseason with a 4-year, $81.4 million extension. They also brought back strong safety Jordan Whitehead on a 2-year, $9 million contract.
Whitehead started every game for the Buccaneers in their Super Bowl-winning season in 2020 and spent the last two seasons with the New York Jets.
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Buccaneers Could Make Move to Add Former NFL Defensive Player of the Year