Stephon Gilmore: Pro Bowl, Ed Block Courage Award, Contract Update

Aug 20, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Buffalo Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore (24) at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Stephon Gilmore seems to make more headlines in the offseason than he does in the regular season.

Stephon Gilmore has started to open up about the offseason and has even earned some praise from the Buffalo Bills‘ organization. If you’ve been a Bills’ fan the past few years, it’s probably no surprise that Gilmore starts to talk when he doesn’t have to prove himself in a game.

I’m not knocking Gilmore at all because he did have a fairly good season. Unfortunately, it wasn’t good enough to earn him the type of money he thinks he deserves and that’s where the criticism begins.

At season’s end, Stephon Gilmore played in 15 games and totaled 48 tackles, 5 interceptions and 12 passes defended. If you want to compare that to Ronald Darby, he finished with 69 tackles, 12 passes defended and one stuff — with no interceptions on the year. It’s important to note that 4 of Gilmore’s interceptions came in just two games — so I wouldn’t use his INT numbers as bragging rights.

It’s clear that Gilmore is a talented cornerback, but when a player gets too focused on his paycheck it ends up taking focus away from their play on the field. It happens often and that’s why it’s best to just work hard, play harder and let all that other stuff come to you.

Recently, Stephon Gilmore made headlines three times this past week — making it to the Pro Bowl, being selected for the Ed Block Courage Award and also rumors about his contract situation.

Let’s start with the good news.

Stephon Gilmore selected to the NFL Pro Bowl.

In his first four seasons with the Buffalo Bills, Gilmore wasn’t selected to the Pro Bowl — not exactly common among the top-paid cornerbacks in the league. On Monday, Gilmore finally got that call and was invited to the Pro Bowl, which he accepted.

It’s still unclear who Gilmore will be replacing because the original cornerbacks that were selected (Marcus Peters, Casey Hayward, Chris Harris and Aqib Talib) aren’t injured or playing in the Super Bowl. It’s possible that the NFL is just making it tough on the Bills to re-sign Gilmore, giving him a chance to prove himself to other teams.

Needless to say, Gilmore will play in the Pro Bowl and it will be his first ever selection.

Stephon Gilmore also received praise from the Buffalo Bills when they named him the Bills’ recipient for the Ed Block Courage Award. So, what is this award exactly?

Oct 30, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore (24) against the New England Patriots at New Era Field. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

The Buffalo Bills named Stephon Gilmore the recipient for the Ed Block Courage Award.

For those of you who have never heard of the Ed Block Courage Award, the Buffalo Bills explained it perfectly in a statement that was released on Tuesday:

“The Ed Block Courage Award is presented to the Buffalo Bills player who exemplifies a commitment to the principles of sportsmanship and courage. The recipient symbolizes professionalism, great strength, dedication and serves as a community role model for others.”

Sure, there were probably other players that were more deserving of this award, but I’m not going to question the Bills on their decision. It could just be a way of showing Stephon Gilmore that they still want him in Buffalo, trying to convince him to stay.

A little history on the award, Ed Block was the Baltimore Colts’ head athletic trainer from 1954-1977. He also spent time as a physical therapist in Baltimore at a hospital for disabled children, as well as an army officer in World War II.

The award was originally an award given out by just the Colts, but the NFL inherited it in 1984. Active players of each 32 NFL teams vote for a teammate they think deserves it.

Gilmore will attend the Ed Block Courage Award Foundation ceremony on March 11th, where he will receive the award with the other 31 recipients.

This season, Gilmore hosted a football camp in South Carolina and also took part in in the My Clause, My Cleats initiative, where he supported the Alzheimer’s Association.

With that being said, let’s get to what every fan is wondering right now, will Stephon Gilmore play for the Buffalo Bills next season or will he walk in free agency?

Nov 20, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Buffalo Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore (24) reacts after making an interception off a pass from Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton (not pictured) in the first half at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

As time goes by, it seems less and less likely that Stephon Gilmore will suit up for the Buffalo Bills next season.

The Buffalo Bills have a decision to make and Stephon Gilmore won’t let them forget about it. Set to be an unrestricted free agent, if the Bills don’t present him with a nice paycheck then another team will — and he would be glad to take it.

At the Pro Bowl this week, he started to open up about things. The main takeaway from everything was that wherever Gilmore ends up, he wants to be wanted on that team.

“No hopes,” Gilmore said. “Whatever happens is going to happen. But I want to be wanted wherever I go.”

Could that be a jab at the Buffalo Bills, maybe that he didn’t feel wanted here? It’s possible.

Gilmore did note that he has talked to the new coaches in this city:

“I talked to Sean McDermott on the phone, then I got a call from (new Bills defensive coordinator) Leslie Frazier, those guys called me. It’s all up to them. They seem like they’re going to turn it around out there but, like I said, I don’t know what’s going to happen. They got a decision to make.”

In my opinion, Stephon Gilmore wants to continue to play for the Buffalo Bills, but he doesn’t feel convinced that the organization and the fans even want him there. It looks like that’s where his criticism is coming from.

On the other hand, I don’t really think Bills’ fans want him here. Because of that, I see him testing free agency. Don’t get me wrong, a deal with Buffalo could still happen and we can’t rule anything out. I mean, Doug Whaley still has to meet with all of the new coaches and evaluate the roster, player by player.

Doug Whaley had this to say earlier this week:

That’s what I was going to say. We still have to sit down and meet with those (coaches), so once (Sean McDermott) gets his full staff together – I know the guys that have been hired, they’re watching film already – sometime before we go to our draft meetings in the middle of February, we’ll have that meeting. That’s when we come out and say, “Alright, this is where (the coaches) see them, the vision, OK, let’s try to construct a plan going into the offseason.”

Stephon Gilmore has been with the Buffalo Bills since the team drafted him with the 10th overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. In his time with the Bills, he has totaled 226 tackles, 4 forced fumbles, 14 interceptions, 62 passes defended and 4 stuffs.

Let’s compare those stats to 3 of the top-5 cornerbacks in this league — who all receive paychecks similar to what Gilmore wants.

Josh Norman of the Washington Redskins was picked in the 5th round of the same 2012 Draft as Gilmore. In his five years, he has totaled 248 tackles, 6 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 10 interceptions, 2 touchdowns, 55 passes defended and 7 stuffs. Similar to Gilmore.

Patrick Peterson was picked 5th overall in the 2011 Draft. For the sake of comparison, we won’t count this past season and only count Peterson’s first five seasons in the league, 2011-2015. In that span, he totaled 246 tackles, 2 sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, 17 interceptions, one touchdown, 57 passes defended, 5 stuffs and 2 blocked kicks. Much more valuable than Gilmore, in my opinion.

Lastly, let’s look at Richard Sherman, who was drafted in the fifth round of the 2011 draft. We will treat his stats the same as we did Peterson’s, just 2011-2015. In that span, he totaled 274 tackles, one sack, 5 forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, 26 interceptions, two touchdowns, 79 passes defended and 3 stuffs. Definitely on another level than Gilmore.

Looking at those stats, I wouldn’t put Gilmore up with them as far as his paycheck goes. Those three superstars make an average of $14.3 million. Even if the Bills were to place a franchise tag on Gilmore, that’s around what they would be paying.

It’s obvious that if a contract extension isn’t agreed to, then the franchise tag won’t be a smart move. That means Gilmore will likely walk in free agency.

Personally, I like Gilmore and think he’s a great cornerback. I just don’t think Buffalo is where he needs to be right now. Plus, with the draft being FILLED with cornerbacks, the Bills can most likely fill his spot at a much, much cheaper price.

With Whaley being a great scout at this position, I have faith that we can find another great cornerback in the draft, like they did with Gilmore and Ronald Darby.

I’m sure Stephon Gilmore will have more to say after the Pro Bowl. If he plays well, he’ll be loud and proud. If he doesn’t, well that would just be awkward.

What’s your opinion on Stephon Gilmore? Leave your comments below!