Patriots just lost Stephon Gilmore to Carolina for only a 6th round draft pick
There are three main factors in play: salary cap, contract and injury. The Patriots are tight to the salary cap, having about $54,000 in space according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, which isn't enough room to make the moves necessary to get through the rest of the season, such as the anticipated signing of linebacker Jamie Collins. Trading Gilmore creates $5.8 million in space. The Patriots could have looked in other areas to create space, however. And had they been able to work out a restructured contract with Gilmore, they might have been more inclined to pursue those. But with contract talks not resulting in a deal, the club had to ask itself a question: With Gilmore recovering from surgery on a torn quad, and unhappy with his contract, could it justify paying him about $400,000 per week to rehabilitate until he was ready to play?
What does it mean for the Patriots?
They have J.C. Jackson and Jalen Mills as their top cornerbacks, with Jonathan Jones as the top option in the slot. The projection was that Mills would move to more of a hybrid safety/corner role when Gilmore was ready to return, so this will likely keep him on the outside. Also, it shines a brighter spotlight on the development of 2021 fifth-round pick Shaun Wade (Ohio State), whom the team acquired from the Baltimore Ravens in an early-September trade. Wade, who has a similar physical profile as Gilmore in terms of his length (6-foot-1, 191 pounds), has yet to be active for a game. Joejuan Williams, the 2019 second-round pick from Vanderbilt, is also on the depth chart but was a healthy scratch for Sunday's 19-17 loss to the Buccaneers.
they were planning to simply cut him and they got something for him, they are far from screwed