Stephon Gilmore’s career has officially come full circle in New England.
The 35-year-old cornerback returned to the Patriots on Friday, signed a one-day contract, and closed out his NFL run with the franchise where he had his biggest moments. Gilmore, who played 13 seasons, previously said in April via an Instagram post that he was retiring after last appearing in the league with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024.
For Gilmore, the Patriots years clearly meant something. He said, "I had great early years in my career, but I think once I came to New England I really grew into myself."
That stretch in Foxborough was the peak of a career that put him among the league’s top defensive backs. After Buffalo selected him 10th overall in the 2012 draft, Gilmore spent five seasons with the Bills before joining New England as a free agent in 2017. Once he got there, he wasted no time becoming a force in the secondary.
By 2018, his second season with the Patriots, he had earned the first of back-to-back AP All-Pro honors. That year ended with him making one of the defining plays of the Patriots’ Super Bowl run: a late fourth-quarter interception in New England’s 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
He followed that up in 2019 with another huge season, becoming the first player in Patriots history to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Gilmore led the league with a career-high six interceptions, and two of them were returned for touchdowns. He also posted a career-high 20 pass breakups in both 2018 and 2019.
The Patriots and Gilmore eventually crossed paths with Mike Vrabel’s Tennessee Titans in the 2020 wild-card round, and Vrabel - now the Patriots coach - said Gilmore’s game was tough to solve.
"Never looked too stressed. I think that was always a thing: He just always looked smooth and under control," said Vrabel, now the Patriots coach. "Yeah, we didn't throw for many yards that game."
Gilmore was traded to the Carolina Panthers during the 2021 season, then finished his career with stops in Indianapolis in 2022, Dallas in 2023 and Minnesota in 2024. His final résumé includes five Pro Bowl selections, 32 interceptions and 149 pass breakouts.
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