The Tampa Bay Buccaneers possess a team that may be just a couple of key additions away from becoming a Super Bowl contender, thanks to a strategic draft and an offseason focused on re-signing their top players to new contracts and extensions.
One area of concern is the cornerback position, where Jamel Dean has the potential to emerge as a star in his fifth season, while 2022 fifth-round pick Zyon McCollom remains largely untested on the opposite side.
According to Matt Holder from Bleacher Report, a viable solution for the Buccaneers to avoid weakness in this position is to sign free agent Stephon Gilmore, the 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
The Buccaneers aim to secure their fourth consecutive NFC South Division title, starting the regular season at home against the Washington Commanders on September 8.
Holder noted, “The Buccaneers could use another corner to play on the other side of Jamel Dean. Gilmore is arguably the best player at the position available right now and would likely be interested in joining the club to make one more run at a Super Bowl. That would give the team’s defense a quality secondary heading into the fall.”
Gilmore, a seasoned NFL veteran at 33, played for the Dallas Cowboys in 2023.
Gilmore’s Career Highlights
Stephon Gilmore has been recognized as one of the NFL’s premier shutdown cornerbacks since being drafted by the Buffalo Bills as the 10th overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.
He made his first Pro Bowl with the Bills in 2016 and subsequently signed a five-year, $65 million contract with the New England Patriots in 2017. Gilmore earned his first NFL All-Pro selection in 2018, contributing to New England’s Super Bowl victory over the Los Angeles Rams. In 2019, he became the first cornerback since Charles Woodson in 2009 to be named NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
The Buccaneers traded one of their starting cornerbacks from the 2023 season, Carlton Davis III, to the Detroit Lions in March 2024. In return, Tampa Bay received a third-round pick and sent two sixth-round picks to Detroit.
With the acquired third-round pick, the Buccaneers selected Washington wide receiver Jalen McMillan, who may serve as the team’s third receiving option behind established veterans Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
Stephon Gilmore could excel in Tampa Bay due to the existing talent in the secondary. The Buccaneers signed NFL All-Pro free safety Antoine Winfield Jr. to a record-breaking four-year, $81.4 million extension, and they re-signed strong safety Jordan Whitehead to a two-year, $9 million deal. Whitehead was a starter during the Buccaneers’ Super Bowl-winning season in 2020 and has spent the last two years with the New York Jets.
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