Cleveland Browns: Should a Stephon Gilmore trade happen?

Does a Stephon Gilmore trade make sense for the Cleveland Browns?

For months now, New England Patriots All-Pro cornerback Stephon Gilmore has been linked to the Cleveland Browns in trade rumors. The team has a need at outside corner opposite Denzel Ward, and the Patriots are in the midst of a quasi-rebuild.

Gilmore will play the 2021 season at 31 years old and is in the final year of his contract. If traded, his new team will be on the hook for just under $7.4 million. The Browns have a little less than $21 million of cap space (prior to signing the rookie class), so they have the room to absorb Gilmore’s hit, although cutting Sheldon Richardson signaled the team’s desire to keep a healthy amount of rollover space, which trading for Gilmore would eat into.

On the field, Gilmore would likely be worth that amount of cash. He is getting older, and suffered a torn quad last season, but he is just one year removed from a prolific Defensive Player of the Year campaign, and while his PFF overall grade fell more than points from 2019 to 2020, Gilmore would be primed for a huge bounce-back season with the Browns.

He would fill the CB2 role while Ward deals with the primary receivers, and Gilmore could match up with bigger targets, something the Cleveland secondary has struggled with for what seems like forever.

On the OBR Film Breakdown Podcast with Jake Burns, Orange and Brown Report insider Lane Adkins shot down the idea of trading for Danielle Hunter or Marshon Lattimore, but said “stay tuned” on Gilmore. Perhaps something will happen on Day 2 of the 2021 NFL Draft, which is this Friday.

The roadblocks to a potential Gilmore deal are trade compensation and a possible contract extension. Gilmore has likely been on the trade block for a while, but obviously, no team has met New England’s asking price. Most projections have Gilmore being moved for more than a 2021 third-round pick, which seems about right in a vacuum; it’s highly unlikely that a third-round pick will be an All-Pro level player as a rookie, or ever.

Yet, that price would indicate that the Browns are going (more or less) all-in for the next year or two, something which they are highly unlikely to do. The team didn’t go 1-31 to have a two-year Super Bowl window. The goal is to make this franchise a sustainable contender, and that means using draft picks to build the roster long-term. Gilmore would certainly make the team better in the short-term, but perhaps keeping the pick would be better for the future.

The fear is that the Browns would trade for Gilmore, he regresses due to age, and then leaves after the season. Not a great way to spend assets, especially for a team that has some massive extensions coming up. If Gilmore were to be extended, how much would he realistically cost?

Richard Sherman signed a three-year deal worth about $27 million with the San Francisco 49ers when he was about the same age as Gilmore, so that seems like a good starting point. Getting a quality CB2 for $9 million per year would be a pretty great deal for the Browns. Whether or not Gilmore would be willing to accept that is a different story.

There are plenty of quality cornerback prospects in this year’s draft class, and the Browns will likely take advantage with one of their first two selections. That may be the sounder course of action as opposed to trading for an aging veteran off a down year.

Still, at the right price, both compensation, and financial-wise, Gilmore could make some sense for the Browns. At the very least, it’s worth keeping an open discourse with Bill Belichick and company.