Minnesota Vikings bolster depleted cornerback room by signing a former All-Pro

On Sunday morning, the Minnesota Vikings officially signed former All-Pro cornerback Stephon Gilmore to a one-year $10 million deal. Gilmore visited the team last Monday but left without a contract. However, the Vikings remained persistent in their desire to acquire Gilmore and were able to complete the deal.

The 33-year-old veteran spent last season with the Dallas Cowboys after bouncing around with the Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts the prior two seasons. Gilmore made his name one of the best shutdown boundary corners in the NFL during his four-year run with the New England Patriots, which landed him two All-Pro honors and an NFL Defensive Player of the Year award.

The Vikings have gone through a whirlwind of changes at the cornerback position, decimated by injuries all offseason. Projected starter Mekhi Blackmon tore his ACL early in training camp, and veteran free agent signee Shaq Griffin has battled nagging hamstring problems that have kept him sidelined most of camp. The team also traded away 2022 second-round pick Andrew Booth after he failed to impress enough to warrant the team keeping him on the roster.

The Vikings will have a more complete cornerback room by bringing in Gilmore. He is now projected to be the team’s opening-day boundary corner with Shaq Griffin, allowing Byron Murphy to play almost exclusively in the slot where he is strongest. Akayleb Evan is now put into a much more comfortable rotational role, and second-year defensive back Jay Ward can now be used as a proper utility player floating between safety and cornerback.

While Gimore might not be the caliber of player he was five years ago, he is still an NFL starting-caliber cornerback, and with the Vikings facing issues at the position already before the regular season begins, Gilmore is an instant upgrade.

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