Stephon Gilmore announces NFL retirement, but his final message says it all
After 13 seasons, former All-Pro cornerback Stephon Gilmore announced his retirement from the NFL.
Gilmore last played for the Minnesota Vikings in 2024 and didn’t sign with a team this past season. The 35-year-old penned his retirement letter, voicing his excitement about what lies ahead.
“I have had an incredible 13 years in the League, and I cannot wait to see what this next chapter holds,” Gilmore stated.
He put together a respectable NFL career that included five Pro Bowl selections, an NFL Defensive Player of the Year award (2019), two First-Team All-Pro nods, and a Super Bowl LIII victory with the New England Patriots.
Gilmore spent the first five years of his career with the Buffalo Bills before joining the Patriots in free agency. He had his most productive campaigns with New England, where he established himself as one of the league’s top cornerbacks.
He was traded to the Carolina Panthers in 2021, then signed with the Indianapolis Colts in 2022. Gilmore was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in 2023 and played his final NFL season with the Vikings.
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Since his retirement announcement, Gilmore has spoken to ESPN, where he expressed his desire to be inducted into both the NFL Hall of Fame and the Patriots Hall of Fame.
“I left it all out on the field. Hopefully, the red jacket, the gold jacket, that’s the goal,” Gilmore said. “My style of play, how I played — mostly a man corner, covered the best guy each and every week, not too many guys can do that week in and week out.”
