The Vikings have agreed to terms with veteran cornerback Stephon Gilmore, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. It will be a one-year deal worth up to $10MM, with $7MM of that total guaranteed.
Although Minnesota had not been publicly connected to Gilmore for much of this offseason, the club brought him in for a visit earlier this month, at which point we learned that the Vikes had maintained interest in the well-traveled defender for some time. He will immediately slot in atop a CB depth chart that has some question marks.
Fourth-round rookie Khyree Jackson died tragically in a car accident back in July, and second-year contributor Mekhi Blackmon suffered a torn ACL early in training camp. The Vikings still roster Byron Murphy and slot CB Josh Metellus, and players like Shaquill Griffin, Fabian Moreau, and Nahshon Wright have been added to the mix this offseason.
Griffin, who signed a three-year, $40MM deal with the Jaguars in advance of the 2021 season following a successful stint with the Seahawks, saw his Jacksonville contract terminated after two years, thanks largely to a back injury that he sustained during the 2022 campaign. In 2023, he inked a one-year, $3.5MM contract with the Texans, but after he started six of Houston’s first nine games, he was demoted to a special teams-only role and subsequently waived. He was claimed by the Panthers, though he appeared in just two games (one start) in Charlotte. Griffin finished the year as Pro Football Focus’ 53rd-best CB out of 127 qualifiers, while Murphy graded out as the 87th-best. Clearly, then, there was room for a quality addition, and even though Gilmore is going into his age-34 season, he should provide the Vikings’ secondary a considerable boost.
Gilmore, a five-time Pro Bowler, two-time First Team All-Pro, and the 2019 Defensive Player of the Year, finished as PFF’s 35th-best CB in 2023 as a full-time starter for the Cowboys. Per Pro Football Reference, Gilmore yielded an 82.7 QB rating on passes thrown in his direction, which was his highest mark since the site began tracking that statistic in 2018 but which is still a solid number. Plus, his presence will allow DC Brian Flores a little more flexibility with matchups, as Flores could move Murphy to nickel on occasion while Gilmore and Griffin — with support from Evans and Moreau — man the outside.
Despite his many accolades, Gilmore has become a bit of a nomad since he turned 30. A first-round pick of the Bills in 2012, the South Carolina product spent the first five years of his pro career in Buffalo before signing a lucrative contract with the Patriots during the 2017 offseason. After four productive years in Foxborough, he was dealt to the Panthers in October 2021, signed with the Colts during the 2022 offseason, and was traded to the Cowboys last March. He authored strong performances at each stop, however, including a top-10 finish in PFF’s rankings for his full season of work in Indianapolis in 2022. Plus, he should have some familiarity with Flores’ scheme, as Flores was New England’s de facto defensive coordinator in 2018.
The Panthers had plenty of interest in a reunion with Gilmore this offseason, and at one point, a return to Carolina appeared to be inevitable. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Panthers did make an offer to Gilmore, though Minnesota’s offer was obviously more compelling.
The Vikings finished in the bottom-10 in passing yards allowed in 2023, and the addition of Gilmore on a notable contract shows that they plan to improve upon that showing and compete for a playoff spot this season.
