Deep dive on the Gilmore deal from The Athletic's Jeff Howe

[Mr. Scot]

The Athletic's Jeff Howe examines how the Stephen Gilmore trade went down along with Panthers beat writer Joe Person.

How the Panthers got the guy they wanted from the Patriots

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Some details from the story...

The Panthers had been looking into acquiring Gilmore for pretty much the entire offseason, but they weren't willing to give up what the Patriots were asking. Then this week, the Patriots decided to cut bait and the Panthers pounced.

Word of Gilmore's impending release was leaked by the Patriots to try and drum up a market. Apparently it did just that as several teams were reported to have inquired and two AFC teams made specific offers.

Fitterer knew of the offers and also understood that if the release happened, there'd be a bidding war for him. That wasn't something he wanted to deal with so he jumped in with a trade offer to try and head it off at the pass.

Pat Stewart's Patriot connections helped grease the skids on the offer. Stewart spent ten seasons with the Patriots and is still known to many in their front office. He kept in contract with Patriots lead personnel guy Dave Ziegler throughout the process and helped secure the ultimate deal.

The final negotiations went fast, so fast in fact that head coach Matt Rhule wasn't aware the deal was completed as he was heading to practice. Fitterer caught him on the way out, told him he had his new player on the phone and asked if he'd like to speak to him

As to the future, per Howe and Person the Panthers do indeed want to sign Gilmore to a contract extension. They are, however, not in a rush to do so. The team wants to wait and see how well he does this season first.

Likewise, Gilmore isn't going to demand immediate negotiations. He also wants to see how things work out, and specifically how well he fits in the Panthers defense. Once both sides have seen what they want to see, then they can talk.

Basically, stay tuned...

Edited October 7, 2021 by Mr. Scot

[Captain Morgan]

hope he recovers completely and wants to stay.  Sounds like his wife will push him to give a little home town discount too.

[TheMaulClaw]

I like Gilmore and I pumped about the trade. It was a no brainer.  I do like the little pipeline we're building with the Gamecocks.  I think Gilmore could def be the face of the franchise for the SC fans, but let's be real.  At 31 we shouldn't extend him more then two years.

[Mr. Scot]

2 minutes ago, stbugs said:

How bad were the other teams’ offers? We only offered a 2023 6th.

Was wondering that myself.

It's also possible Gilmore may have wanted to be here over other places. I remember seeing a comment on that somewhere but I forget where.

[iamhubby1]

7 minutes ago, stbugs said:

How bad were the other teams’ offers? We only offered a 2023 6th.

 

It may well have been that the Pats didn't want him in the AFC, so they traded him to a NFC team. That, and we kind of have a relationship within Orgs.

[Mr. Scot]

13 minutes ago, Captain Morgan said:

hope he recovers completely and wants to stay.  Sounds like his wife will push him to give a little home town discount too.

Honestly, one of the more interesting parts of this article to me was the stuff regarding his future.

Referenced it above, but here's the full excerpt:

Second, the Panthers’ intention is to sign Gilmore to a contract extension, but there’s no rush to do so. They know it won’t be cheap, so they want to make sure Gilmore looks like himself upon his return. His debut against the Giants would be 10 months removed from his last game. The Panthers also have a few extensions to handle in the meantime.

But Gilmore will report to the Panthers and won’t demand a new contract before suiting up. Before signing an extension, he also wants to make sure the defensive fit is as strong as it appears on paper, and that takes time, too. It’s conceivable the extension discussions don’t occur until after the season, even though the Panthers hope to keep him for the long term.

The last line of that first paragraph is noteworthy too.

Edited October 7, 2021 by Mr. Scot

[Bartin]

16 minutes ago, iamhubby1 said:

 

It may well have been that the Pats didn't want him in the AFC, so they traded him to a NFC team. That, and we kind of have a relationship within Orgs.

It’s also been said they wanted to send him to favorable place and Gilmore probably expressed he would like to go home

[Mr. Scot]

1 minute ago, Bartin said:

It’s also been said they wanted to send him to favorable place and Gilmore probably expressed he would like to go home

I do recall someone yesterday (forget who) saying he wanted to go to the Packers, in part because they were a contender.

Don't know how much truth there was to that, but obviously it didn't pan out that way.

[Bartin]

1 minute ago, Mr. Scot said:

I do recall someone yesterday (forget who) saying he wanted to go to the Packers, in part because they were a contender.

Don't know how much truth there was to that, but obviously it didn't pan out that way.

I believe the Packers cap situation required him to actually be released then sign him with cap voodoo

[CarolinaLivin]

Just now, Mr. Scot said:

I do recall someone yesterday (forget who) saying he wanted to go to the Packers, in part because they were a contender.

Don't know how much truth there was to that, but obviously it didn't pan out that way.

Apparently Devante Adams tweeted yesterday "call me" while tagging Gilmore in a post as an attempt to kind of recruit him. Knowing where the Packers sit Cap wise im sure he knew they couldn't trade for him, but likely hoping that he would hold out and not end up being traded. He later tweeted "He never called". Which maybe shows that he wasn't interested. Or maybe he knew he wouldn't get what he wanted in an extension with them. Plus they're two franchise guys (Rodgers, Adams) might not even be there next year.

And since it was said the the Patriots wanted to send him to a favorable place. Favorable on both sides most likely. This leads me to believe Carolina was the only team on the list that he wanted to go to that could afford to trade with him. But it could also mean there wasn't many teams on his list. 

[Mr. Scot]

59 minutes ago, CarolinaLivin said:

Apparently Devante Adams tweeted yesterday "call me" while tagging Gilmore in a post as an attempt to kind of recruit him. Knowing where the Packers sit Cap wise im sure he knew they couldn't trade for him, but likely hoping that he would hold out and not end up being traded. He later tweeted "He never called". Which maybe shows that he wasn't interested. Or maybe he knew he wouldn't get what he wanted in an extension with them. Plus they're two franchise guys (Rodgers, Adams) might not even be there next year.

And since it was said the the Patriots wanted to send him to a favorable place. Favorable on both sides most likely. This leads me to believe Carolina was the only team on the list that he wanted to go to that could afford to trade with him. But it could also mean there wasn't many teams on his list. 

Reasonable.

[Moo Daeng]

Same info from every other source who has mentioned how this unfolded.

[Fan01]

Could be that if it was another team he was traded too he would continue to demand a new or upgraded contract.  Since the Panthers are his hometown, have a great defense, have cap space he said that he was willing to play out the last year here.

I think that "agreement" to play out his last year under contract with Carolina with the deal breaker.  Most other teams would not have offered much if he continued his demand for a new or upgraded contract.  With the Panthers it's a good fit to highlight his skills, get a big contract and be home and make the wife happy.  Win, win, win, win.

[Panthers Rhule]

Big contracts are worth a lot of money but happy wives are priceless.