Saints Trade Scenarios: What a Stephon Gilmore trade would look like

The New Orleans Saints secondary has missed coverage on coverage and has been shredded this season. Stephon Gilmore would fix those plaguing issues.

There’s no denying the New Orleans Saints secondary has been getting shredded lately. In back-to-back weeks they’ve allowed over 250 yards through the air and at least two touchdowns, letting rookie Justin Herbert go off for four before their break.

While it’s true that they’ve been struggling with injuries as Marshon Lattimore and Janoris Jenkins, their two clear best cornerbacks, have been out, there’s been no good excuse for the lack of performance we’ve seen recently.

Head coach Sean Payton knows it’s an issue that must be fixed before this 4-2 team can start having championship aspirations once again.

It hasn’t fixed itself yet, but the Saints can force it fixed with a trade. One player they should look into bringing in to enhance their defense is Patriots’ cornerback Stephon Gilmore.

Gilmore is a three-time Pro Bowler, a two-time All-Pro and the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. While his Patriots started the season strong, they’ve lost three straight games including a 27-point loss to San Francisco.

Cam Newton isn’t the star they thought he would be, which may cause the Patriots to be a bit more open to trading Gilmore, and if they are, the Saints should be instantly giving them a call. But, what might a deal look like?

“Sheldon Rankins and 2022 third round pick for Stephon Gilmore” is the trade that Saints Wire’s John Sigler wrote on. Here’s an excerpt of what Sigler wrote on the potential deal that’d bring in the much-needed secondary help.

“Sure, Gilmore would be pricey. But scared money doesn’t make money. And the Saints are no strangers to navigating complex salary cap situations. If trading for Gilmore fixes a lot of defensive issues and ends up helping Brees go out with a second Super Bowl ring, nobody will remember what it cost,” he continued with.

Gilmore has 20 tackles, one interception and two pass deflections this season. Allowing a career-high 53 percent completion percentage, the Patriots may want to get this high-value pick and defensive tackle to solidify their future.

This feels like a win-win as the Saints could prepare for a Super Bowl run, and the Patriots could figure out the direction in which they want their long-term future to head in.