“Pay Him the $10 Million:” Vikings Urged to Sign Former DPOY, All-Pro Corner
Consider former Vikings GM Jeff Diamond among those who think that Minnesota ought to onboard Stephon Gilmore.
In fact, Diamond has been advocating for the move for a little while. On Monday, Gilmore visited with the Vikings, an interaction that led to some positive thoughts from Kevin O’Connell but nothing in terms of a firm deal. Diamond sees a clear need for that reality to change given the current state of Minnesota’s corners.
Vikings Urged to Sign Stephon Gilmore
Last week, Josina Anderson broke the news that Minnesota would be bringing the veteran corner in for a meeting: “NEWS: Free agent CB Stephon Gilmore tells me he’s flying out on Sunday to visit with the #Vikings on Monday.”
Despite some calls to not let the corner leave without a contract, the Vikings haven’t officially added the former Defensive Player of the Year.
“Had a great visit with him,” O’Connell noted, before describing some “good dialogue.” The head coach goes on to praise the building and culture — “a sneak [peak, little preview] of what they may be joining if all things work out” — before concluding by saying “it was a really positive visit.”
If the corner ends up going elsewhere — guaranteed: there are teams beyond the Minnesota Vikings that are interested in Mr. Gilmore’s services — then a lot of fans won’t be pleased. So, too, would Jeff Diamond be disappointed.
Consider some of his thoughts on the matter in a recent piece for Vikings Territory. After describing the Raiders’ success passing the ball last Saturday, Diamond shifts into the need for Gilmore: “Which again brings us to the urgency to sign Stephon Gilmore, the five-time Pro Bowl corner who came in on Monday for a visit but left without signing. I say pay him the $10 million he earned with the Cowboys last year.”
Diamond continues: “make him an immediate starter at one of the outside corner spots along with Murphy and with Shaquill Griffin taking an outside corner spot (if he can recover from his hamstring injury and stay healthy) when Murphy moves into the slot corner position. Akayleb Evans needs to be a backup and continue to be coached up.”
In all likelihood, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah would be reluctant to hand over $10 million. The team is sitting on $19 million in cap space, so there’s room in the budget. Will the soon-to-be 34-year-old corner be worth such a lofty price tag, though?
The current GM has a reputation for not budging on his convictions. He also has a reputation for seeking positive value at every turn. More likely is a deal that’s closer to $6 million, but it remains to be seen if Gilmore would go for that number. After all, he’s still a strong player.
As a Cowboy in 2023, Gilmore started all seventeen games. He picked up a career-high 68 tackles to stand alongside 2 interceptions — he has never had an NFL season without at least 1 interception — 13 passes defended, and 1 forced fumble.
Gilmore plays the vast majority of his snaps along the outside. In Minnesota, that wouldn’t be too much of a problem because Byron Murphy Jr. can slide inside and the safeties are commonly kicked into the slot.
Last year, Gilmore had 872 snaps as a boundary corner versus just 56 in the slot.
Quarterbacks completed just 55.8% of passes into his coverage, a number that was far better than Minnesota’s team-wide 70.3% completion rate against in 2023. His passer rating allowed was down at 83.3, suggesting QBs performed at an average/below average level when going after him.
Minnesota has certainly been patient in their pursuit of Gilmore. Adofo-Mensah isn’t afraid of getting into a bit of a game of chicken.
The positive is simply that the team and the player have built a bit of a rapport. If/when another team puts a firm offer on the table, Stephon Gilmore likely circles back around to Minnesota to see about whether a deal can get across the finish line to make him a Viking.
The Vikings’ next game takes place on Saturday, August 17th. They’ll take on the Browns in Cleveland and kickoff is scheduled for 3:25 p.m. CT. A rough effort from the team’s pass coverage may toss a bit more fuel onto the fire when it comes to signing Stephon Gilmore.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.