Seahawks free agent target: Stephon Gilmore (Richard Sherman agrees)
By Lee Vowell
The Seattle Seahawks need to get better at cornerback whether D.J. Reed re-signs or not. Stephon Gilmore could be a good fit in Seattle. And after Richard Sherman said he “expected” Gilmore to sign with either the San Francisco 49ers or Seattle on Sherman’s latest podcast, then that at least makes Gilmore a player for 12s to watch in free agency this offseason.
No, Sherman doesn’t know everything. But it would make sense to believe if he thinks a player might sign somewhere Sherman would have an inkling as to why. Sherman is still a player in the NFL and likely hears rumors of where other players might end up so let’s assume Sherman knows what he is talking about and the Seahawks are a player for Gilmore.
Should Seattle be, though? The team overall needs to get younger and cornerbacks can look old fast. But Seattle simply shouldn’t overlook the possibility of signing the soon-to-be 32-year-old Gilmore to a two-year deal with a bunch of guaranteed money upfront.
Seattle Seahawks should sign Stephon Gilmore this offseason
After being traded to the Carolina Panthers midway through the 2021 season by the Patriots (due mostly to contract disagreement issues), Gilmore had a very good season and ended up making the Pro Bowl for the fourth straight year. In his 9 games, Gilmore had 2 interceptions and allowed a QBR-against of just 78.6. Gilmore also allowed just 6.4 yards per target. He also allowed just 1 touchdown pass.
Gilmore is also still capable of playing the left side of the defense. D.J. Reed, a Seahawks corner who needs to be re-signed, is better on the right side. Reed showed this in 2021 after starting 2021 a little shaky on the left side but was fantastic after moving back to the right side. Signing Gilmore and Reed makes the Seahawks defense instantly better in 2022.
Gilmore would also give Pete Carroll a slightly bigger corner – not Sherman-sized but much bigger than Reed or Tre Brown – and Carroll probably would still like his defenses to have bigger, more physical corners.
Next. 3 Bears that could follow Sean Desai to the Seahawks. dark
Plus, Seattle’s new defensive coaching staff of Clint Hurtt, Sean Desai and Karl Scott need a player of Gilmore’s impact to enhance what they’d like to do new defensively. Seattle’s defense must be better in 2022 and adding quality like Gilmore will help with that. Signing Gilmore to a two-year deal worth $29 million would be more than worth it.