Super Bowl Champion and Defensive Player of the Year Signs Contract With Colts

By Brian Jones

The Indianapolis Colts have added a Super Bowl champion to the roster. According to Josina Anderson of CBS Sports, Stephon Gilmore signed a contract with the Colts after visiting with the team this week. The contract is for two years and worth and is worth up to $23 million with $14 million guaranteed, according to ESPN. 

Gilmore, 31, joins the Colts after spending the 2021 season with the Carolina Panthers. He was traded to the Panthers in October after spending four seasons with the New England Patriots where he won a Super Bowl in 2018. Gilmore was also named Defensive Player of the Year in 2019 after recording 53 tackles, six interceptions and 20 passes defended. In 2020, Gilmore suffered a quad injury late in the season and played in just 11 games. He started the 2021 season on the physically unable to perform list due to the injury. 

In an interview with The Athletic in December, Gilmore talked about how the Patriots mishandled his injury. "When you return to play, you want to rehab back to return to play," he said. "But I felt like they were doing more workouts than rehab, more working out like someone (who) was 100 percent healthy and in the offseason program. But I was rehabbing, coming back from surgery. So that's different. I think you should take steps to come back and play."

Gilmore continued, "It was just making me do all types of running and lifting way more than I was supposed to. I'm just happy everything — I feel like God puts you in position to be in a better place. They handled it right here, and I'm on the right track. I feel good — better and better every week. And I feel more confident."

The Buffalo Bills selected Gilmore No. 10 overall in the 2012 NFL Draft. He made his first Pro Bowl in 2016 after registering 48 tackles, five interceptions and 12 passes defended in 15 games. He signed with the Patriots in 2017 after agreeing to a five-year, $65 million deal. Overall, Gilmore has been named to the Pro Bowl five times and All-Pro First Team twice. He joins a Colts team that recently added former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and former Philadelphia Eagles safety Rodney McLeod. 

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