3 cornerbacks Buccaneers need to trade for at the deadline

A name that has been floating around NFL circles for over a year, Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore is the ultimate get when it comes to a cornerback trade.

According to Jeff Howe at The Athletic, a Gilmore trade seems unlikely: teams are unwilling to part with the draft capital necessary to court Gilmore, nor are they willing to sign him to another monster contract. Recently, reports emerged that the Saints were making a play for Gilmore but balked. Similarly, the Patriots don’t seem interested in parting with the 2019 Defensive Player of the Year.

But opening the season on the reserve/PUP list puts the Gilmore trade talks in a mysterious place. Gilmore has been recovering from a torn quad that required offseason surgery, but he also skipped mandatory minicamp this June to express “displeasure” over his current contract.

As per usual, the Patriots are stacked with cornerback talent, and an early-season Shaun Wade trade indicated a possible move from Gilmore in the future.

If Gilmore can be persuaded away from the Pats, he has so much to give to the Buccaneers. The talented veteran would join Richard Sherman as one of the best man cornerbacks in the league with unparalleled coverage, which got him that coveted DPOY award. Only six cornerbacks have ever won it, a testament to Gilmore’s fundamentals.

Not to mention that the quiet, brilliant Gilmore is exactly the type of player Tom Brady would recruit to his Southern super team — but what makes this trade even less likely is the love lost between Brady and Belichick. After a heart-wrenching Week 4 loss in Foxboro, Belichick likely won’t want to give any more ammunition for Brady’s eighth campaign for a ring.