Chicago Bears rumors: Stephon Gilmore draws interest

Stephon Gilmore is one of the bigger names of cornerbacks hitting free agency this spring. He is reportedly drawing interest from the Chicago Bears.

Seven players were hit with the 2017 franchise tag. While some suspected that the Buffalo Bills would consider using the tag on cornerback Stephon Gilmore, that was not the case. He will be hitting unrestricted free agency as one of the better cover corners in his class.

According to Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole, there is “growing talk of [the Chicago] taking a run at [cornerback] Stephon Gilmore.” Cole adds that Chicago could be looking to add a quarterback as well in the early days of free agency.

Gilmore had played his first five NFL seasons with the Bills after being the No. 10 overall pick by them in the 2012 NFL Draft out of South Carolina. He earned his first trip to the Pro Bowl in his fifth season in a year where he had five interceptions, 12 pass breakups and 48 combined tackles.

Chicago has roughly $54,289,321 work of cap space for general manager Ryan Pace to work with this offseason. 2017 is really a make or break year for the Bears, as head coach John Fox may not get a fourth year in the Windy City should things not improve.

Gilmore has a reputation as being a good, but not great cover guy. He does get burnt at times, but plays a premium position as a cornerback. He could go back to Buffalo at the right price, but Gilmore would be playing for his fourth different head coach in Buffalo in four seasons under Sean McDermott.

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Replacing Gilmore wouldn’t be easy for the Bills, but could be possible as they have a top-10 pick to use in the this spring’s draft. With Chicago having ample cap space and in dire need to get better overnight, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Gilmore sign with the Bears this offseason.