Should the Vikings have made a play for CB Stephon Gilmore?

Former New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore was available for a few hours on Wednesday and the Minnesota Vikings should have made a strong offer.

On Wednesday, the New England Patriots traded 2019 All-Pro cornerback Stephon Gilmore to the Carolina Panthers for a sixth-round draft pick. There is no secret that the Minnesota Vikings have had issues at the cornerback position and Gilmore would have solved almost all of those. Had Gilmore not been injured, it is very hard to imagine the Patriots allowing him to walk away.

Gilmore has been on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list to start the season and is eligible to play in Week 7. A quad injury in Week 15 of last year caused Gilmore to require surgery and miss the first portion of this season.

The 2019 AP Defensive Player of the Year had also spent all summer in a tussle with the Patriots regarding a new contact, which ultimately led to both going their separate ways.

It is very rare that a player of this caliber becomes available in the middle of the season. The main question is of course his health and whether the player you are acquiring is close to the player he was just a year ago.

If Gilmore is even close to the player he once was, then you go for him without looking back because he significantly improves your team.

Could the Minnesota Vikings have pulled off a trade for Stephon Gilmore?

The Vikings currently have just over $4 million in cap space, which is just under Gilmore’s base salary of $7 million for this year. Gilmore will likely be looking for a longer and more lucrative deal that Minnesota might have been able to offer if they decided to pull the trigger and make an offer.

Although there are teams that are able to offer Gilmore more, Minnesota is able to create the space for free agents if needs be.

Vikings general manager Rick Spielman and his team have demonstrated for years that money can be shuffled around to create just enough cap space to make the moves that are needed. Even when it seems that Minnesota has no money, they find a way.

The Vikings need a cornerback, and Gilmore would have been the gift they have been waiting for to fall into their laps. This could have helped propel Minnesota back into playoff contention and be the quick fix that the team so desperately needed.