Will Stephon Gilmore Holdout of Training Camp?
By Ryan Brennan
Training camp starts exactly one week from today at St. John Fisher’s College. Will Stephon Gilmore be in attendance?
Richard Sherman, Josh Norman, Trumaine Johnson, Jalen Ramsey, Janoris Jenkins and Darrelle Revis. In terms of total cash, these are the only cornerbacks in the NFL that will receive more money than Stephon Gilmore this season — according to Spotrac.
That makes Gilmore the 7th highest paid cornerback in the league this year, pitting him up with the best corners in football right now. Noticeable names under him are: Joe Haden, Patrick Peterson, Eli Apple, Aqib Talib and Adam-Pacman Jones. Ronald Darby, the breakout rookie cornerback last season lining up across from Gilmore, will be making $642,713.
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Gilmore hasn’t been shy about the fact he deserves a big-time contract. Although he already has that, he still wants a long-term contract in addition to more money. Amid talks with the Buffalo Bills regarding that big-time contract, reports show that they haven’t progressed and have even come to a standstill. It’s clear that both sides want to get a deal done, it just seems that now is not the right time.
Gilmore has even gone as far as hinting at possibly holding out of training camp, which will start on Saturday, July 30th. Back in May, Gilmore skipped the team’s OTA’s. However, he was in attendance at their mandatory camp a month ago because he didn’t want to be fined. If he had skipped those three days, it would’ve cost him $12,765 on the first day, $25,525 on the second day and $38,290 on the third day. That would be a total of nearly $77,000 — according to Pro Football Talk.
With that being said, is it really possible for him to skip training camp? Keep in mind, the Bills have the power to fine Gilmore for each day he misses of training camp — just like the mandatory camp in June. Also important: it will cost him A LOT more than $77,000. Let’s look at the numbers.
Needless to say, Gilmore will be out there for Week 1 vs. the Baltimore Ravens and will no doubt give it his all once the season starts.
Training camp essentially the runs the length of August and the Bills can fine Gilmore $30,000 each day he skips. If he were to hold out even half of the training camp, it would potentially cost him around $375,000. In addition to that, the Bills can fine him one regular season game check for each preseason game he misses. For Gilmore, missing all of preseason will cost him a total of $2.6 million. For someone who wants to make more money, this wouldn’t be the route.
As of right now, don’t expect a deal to be reached anytime soon. In fact, it won’t happen until the season is over — when the Bills could use the franchise tag on him. It was recently reported that he will be playing out the final year of his contract and will become a free agent in 2017.
That will give the Bills time to see if he is even worthy of a contract the size he is looking for. Obviously, the talent is there. The downside comes with the injuries, since Gilmore hasn’t played a full season in his 4-year career with the Bills. He was drafted by the team with the 10th overall pick in the 2012 draft.
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As for training camp, expect Gilmore to be there. For someone who showed up to the mandatory camps so he wouldn’t get fined, I assume he’ll have that same mentality. Knowing he won’t be getting that contract this year, he can’t afford to lose any money if that’s what the issue is regarding.
We all wanted a deal to get done. Any team would love to have a top cornerback on the island. However, with an even younger Ronald Darby showing just as much promise, it’s better we don’t move forward prematurely.
Needless to say, Gilmore will be out there for Week 1 vs. the Baltimore Ravens and will no doubt give it his all once the season starts. He has a lot to play for.
Do you think a Stephon Gilmore holdout is a possibility or will he be at training camp? Leave your comments below!