The Minnesota Vikings met with current free agent cornerback Stephon Gilmore on Monday, August 12th. At the time, Gilmore’s signing felt like a near certainty. His connection with current defensive coordinator Brian Flores fit perfectly with the Vikings’ desperate need for starter-level cornerback play. Unfortunately, that’s not the way his visit ended up. Instead, Gilmore left Eagan without a deal .
Head coach Kevin O’Connell spoke to media, that evening, before the Vikings’ night practice. He said the conversations with Gilmore, during his time touring TCO Performance Center, were positive. Not everyone is buying what KOC is selling, though…
Was Kevin O’Connell giving Stephon Gilmore a “sales pitch” in his pressor?
According to Ben Goessling (Star Tribune) via the Access Vikings podcast, O’Connell talked a lot about selling things to Gilmore, whether it was the facilities themselves, or the Vikings culture. The entire visit was more of a sales pitch to the 34-year-old CB, and Goessling got vibes that sales pitch even extended into O’Connell’s media session.
“Did you get a little bit of a vibe from that last night? Like the things he said about Stephon Gilmore were a little bit of a sales pitch ?”
“Like, it seemed like he was trying to use his comments to us to send the message to Stephon Gilmore. Hey, this is a great place to be. You really want to be here.”
Ben Goessling (Star Tribune) via Access Vikings
What it seems Goessling is hinting at, is that the Minnesota Vikings probably offered Gilmore a contract worth sitting on, but not worth signing on the spot for. Additionally, Gilmore has now had a chance to see the Minnesota Vikings’ facilities, and the culture surrounding the team.
A potential selling point for him if he decides to shop this deal around. The longtime Vikings insider and beat writer compared it to situations last year, around this time, with Dalton Risner and Kareem Hunt. O’Connell mentioned the visit being similar to past visits, as well.
Just like Risner and Hunt last summer, he can take try to find better offers elsewhere. If Gilmore can’t find what he’s looking for, the Vikings will be waiting, with the same offer in hand.
“And the other thing that stuck out to me, he said, after the visit, he said, it’s kind of like some of these other ones we’ve done in the past. I think he used some language like that, which made me think, I thought of Dalton Risner last year, or they had, I think, Kareem Hunt in there.
My understanding was probably to send a little bit of a message to Madison and stop fumbling, or we’ll look for somebody else… But yeah, it felt a little bit to me like a message for an audience of one.”
Ben Goessling (Star Tribune) via Access Vikings
Will the Minnesota Vikings’ sign Stephon Gilmore and, if so, when?
It’s unclear now if Gilmore will sign here. As a comparison, and what Goessling referenced in the podcast, Dalton Risner visited the Minnesota Vikings on August, 1, 2023 but did not end up agreeing to the deal until September 18, 2023.
The Vikings likely are playing this same game with Gilmore. Giving him a chance to see everything while offering a contract to him that fits what the team wants. At this point, it’ll be up to Gilmore whether he will take that or continue shopping around for a better deal or fit.
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The problem with this is that teams always need good, veteran cornerbacks. That’s what Stephon Gilmore is. Yes, offensive line is important, too. But there’s a reason Risner has struggled to find a roster spot, since leaving Denver a couple of years ago. Gilmore has had no such issues.
If the Vikings are undercutting his value, and relying on their team vibes to land him, I don’t like their chances. Nonetheless, Goessling did note was that it seems like the Minnesota Vikings are the only team interested in him, as of right now. Another element could be training camp.
A lot of these veteran free agent players want to sign as late as possible to avoid these long, hot practice sessions, leading up to a season. Still, he would want to leave enough time to practice with the team some. At the end of the day, the ball seems to be in Gilmore’s court.
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