Heading into Week 5, the Raiders have a big need in their secondary. The team had three cornerbacks leave last week’s game due to injuries and the expectation is that Trayvon Mullen and Damon Arnette could miss a significant amount of time.
The hope is that Casey Hayward, Nate Hobbs and Amik Robertson can hold down the fort for the next several weeks, but the Raiders are going to need to add some depth to their secondary. They will likely need to make multiple roster moves at cornerback just to get through Week 5.
However, could they potentially make a bigger move? On Wednesday morning, the New England Patriots released All-Pro cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who was in the final year of his deal. He is currently on the PUP list, but is expected to be ready by Week 7.
A stunner: Patriots are releasing four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who was eligible to come off the Physically Unable to Perform List after Week 6, source tells ESPN. pic.twitter.com/31H8KQF8hq
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 6, 2021
When healthy, there isn’t a better cornerback in the league than Gilmore. He can play in both man and zone schemes and he is a fantastic tackler. If the Raiders wanted to really go “all-in” this season and make a run, Gilmore is the type of player worth targeting on the open market.
Considering his career achievements, Gilmore should have a very robust market over the next couple of weeks. But with the Raiders having a glaring need at cornerback, this makes too much sense.