Over 13 NFL seasons, Gilmore established himself as a shutdown corner capable of erasing any receiver lined up across from him. His career peaked in 2019 when Gilmore led the NFL with 20 passes defensed and six interceptions, earning All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors to line up alongside the most coveted award: 2019 Defensive Player of the Year.
A year earlier, Gilmore played a pivotal role in a Patriots defense that was a statistically middling unit but came together at the perfect time in Super Bowl LIII, shutting down the high-powered Los Angeles Rams in a 13-3 triumph on the sport’s grandest stage. In that contest, Gilmore shined, finishing second in tackles (five), forcing a fumble and intercepting Jared Goff in New England’s red zone late in the fourth quarter to shut down the Rams’ best and last chance to tie the game.
Like many Patriots near the end of the Bill Belichick era, Gilmore saw his time in New England end unceremoniously during the 2021 season when the Patriots couldn’t agree to terms with Gilmore on an extension and instead traded him to his hometown Carolina Panthers in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick. Gilmore struggled through a quadriceps injury for much of that season before returning on Halloween, appearing in eight games (three starts) and earning his fifth and final Pro Bowl selection while with the 5-12 Panthers.
In his final few seasons, Gilmore bounced around as a mercenary, spending one season each with Indianapolis, Dallas and Minnesota. After spending 2025 out of the league, the 35-year-old Gilmore decided it was time to hang up the cleats that helped him rise to fame.
Gilmore’s pro career began as a first-round pick of the Buffalo Bills out of South Carolina in 2012, and he quickly established himself as an effective cornerback who only grew with each passing year. He finally received his deserved recognition in his fifth and final season in Buffalo, earning a Pro Bowl nod in a season that saw Gilmore record 12 passes defensed and five interceptions (then a career-high mark). Gilmore’s time in Buffalo preceded the Bills’ rise to prominence, but when new coach Sean McDermott arrived and the Bills decided they’d prefer to move on from the former first-rounder, a division rival with years of experience playing against Gilmore was happy to scoop him up.
The rest is history, a storybook career that can officially be closed with Thursday’s news.
