New England Patriots: Stephon Gilmore ready to bring it in 2017
New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore will have a lot to prove this season, including working with fellow cornerback Malcolm Butler.
In a tale of two contract situations, New England Patriots new cornerback Stephon Gilmore will have a lot of eyes on him this upcoming season.
After signing a massive contract the first day of free agency, the former Buffalo Bills corner faces the pressure of living up to his contract and doing his part in forming one of the best cornerback duos in the NFL.
Most of that will depend on the mood status of Malcolm Butler, who wasn’t too happy when his contract negotiations stalled. In fact, Butler was shopping his services to the New Orleans Saints after the team hit him with a first-round tender.
So, can Butler leave the business aspect of the game off the field?
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If he can and does, the Patriots could have something special. Perhaps even a better cornerback duo than they had when Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner played together. That is something Gilmore is very excited about.
Ready to do his part
In an appearance on NFL Network’s Total Access on Monday, the new Patriots cornerback expressed just how excited he is about forming such a great duo.
"“We just gotta go out there and prove ourselves every day; get better in practice you know?” Gilmore said, as transcribed by NFL.com “Every year it starts over and we gotta be hungry. We gotta go out there and prove to everyone in the league that we can play the game at a high level so I think if we do that, everything else will speak for itself.”"
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All in all, Stephon Gilmore and Malcolm Butler have the talent to become one of the best cornerback duos Bill Belichick has ever had. If indeed Butler has the kind of season that gets him the type of deal Gilmore inked with the team, the tandem could become the best in the league.
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That will also depend on how well Gilmore adapts and how much the team is able to get out of his potential on the field.