Bills CB Stephon Gilmore Set To Play Out Final Year Of His Contract

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Bills CB Stephon Gilmore appears to be set to play out the final year of his rookie contract, as talks between the two parties haven’t made much progress.

Last we heard, Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News reported that the Bills have “no intention” of offering Gilmore $15 million per year in a new contract, which would be in line with what the Redskins paid to CB Josh Norman a few months ago after the Panthers surprisingly elected to rescind the franchise tag from him.

Ultimatley, Norman secured a five-year, $75-million from Washington. However, a big part of this was the fact that Norman was a free agent, so he had more leverage with interested teams.

Tthe Bills have Gilmore under contract for the 2016 season. With this in mind, Carucci mentioned that the Bills “have no reason to treat him as a player in the open market with other teams bidding for his services.”

Buffalo could end up using their franchise tag on Gilmore next year if they’re still unable to bridge the gap on a long-term deal. Doing so would cost the Bills in the range of around $12.5 – $13 million.

Bills GM Doug Whaley previously said that Gilmore was among the players they would like to lock up to long-term deals in the coming months. Buffalo has already signed LT Cordy Glenn to a sizable extension, so it’s possible that Gilmore could be next in line for a new deal.

Gilmore, 25, was taken with the No. 10 overall pick by the Bills back in 2012. He played out his rookie contract, but the Bills elected to pick up his fifth-year option last year, which will pay him $11 million for the 2016 season.

In 2015, Gilmore appeared in 12 games and recorded 36 tackles, three interceptions, and 18 pass defenses for the Bills. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 9 cornerback out of 111 qualifying players.

We’ll have more regarding a possible extension for Gilmore as the news is available.