Four Reasons Bills Don’t Want To Sign Stephon Gilmore Now
By Dennis Moody
Is Ronald Darby stopping Gilmore from getting his big pay day?
The Bills have another starting cornerback in second-year player Ronald Darby besides Gilmore. Darby deserved to win the defensive rookie of the year award last year, but Marcus Peters won because he had more interceptions despite also giving up way more touchdowns than Darby.
Darby proved to be one of the better corners in the league after just one season. He comes relatively cheap until 2018 when he is due a new contract. The Bills are aware that they are going to have to pay him a ton of money at that point the way cornerback salaries have trended.
If the Bills feel Darby is the one they want to be their star corner going forward they could easily conclude that Gilmore is not worth paying and they could let him walk.
That doesn’t mean they can’t have both. Look at when Rex Ryan was the coach of the Jets. He had Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, both with massive contracts, and he was happy as a clam. Rex’s multiple system puts a lot of pressure on his cornerbacks because he trusts them in man coverage while using his other players to mix up where the blitz is coming from.
He prefers to have as many talented cornerbacks as he can have. The issue is that it might not come down to what Rex prefers, if general manager Doug Whaley decides that he doesn’t have it in the budget to have both long-term.
Next: Reason 4: Is Tyrod Taylor Stopping Gilmore From Getting Paid?