Free agent CB Stephon Gilmore open to return in 2025 NFL season: ‘I still can contribute’
Super Bowl champion and former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore remains a free agent this offseason. The 34-year-old cornerback isn’t ready to hang it up just yet after 13 years in the league. He is not rushing into a decision, either.
“I want to play this year, it’s just got to be the right situation,” Gilmore said on “The Money Down” podcast. “It’s got to be the right situation for me. I’m not just gonna sign anywhere. … I still love the game. I still can contribute. It’s just got to be the right place.”
Gilmore bounced around over the past four seasons, suiting up for four different teams since his departure from the New England Patriots in 2021. After the Carolina Panthers traded for him, he went on to have one-season stints with the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys before starting 15 games for the Minnesota Vikings in 2023.
The opposition targeted Gilmore 91 times as the primary defender in coverage last season, allowing a 60.4% completion rate — tied for the 16th lowest among 32 defensive backs with at least 80 targets, per TruMedia. He surrendered five touchdowns, his most in a season since 2018 — the same year he helped lead the Patriots to a Super Bowl LIII title.
Even at age 34, Gilmore has shown he can contribute at a high level in the right system. He logged 56 total tackles, eight pass deflections and an interception last season with the Vikings, missing two games with a hamstring injury.
Over the course of his decorated 13-year career, Gilmore has racked up five Pro Bowl selections, two First-Team All-Pro nods and the 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. He’s totaled 117 pass breakups, 32 interceptions and more than 600 tackles across 173 career starts — a résumé that certainly makes him one of the most accomplished free agents still on the market.
Gilmore visited with the Cowboys back in April but left without a deal.
