New England Patriots trade options with San Francisco 49ers

3. CB Stephon Gilmore to the 49ers

Absent a new contract, New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore may want to be traded to a new team.

If the Patriots don’t want to pay the former Defensive Player of the Year, they might try to cash out as soon as possible and get maximum value for him while they still can.

The 49ers obviously traded some of their primary NFL Draft assets in 2022 for the right to move up and draft Trey Lance, but they still have second-round picks to work with and perhaps some other players the Patriots would be interested in adding.

Why would the 49ers potentially pay top dollar for Gilmore?

The cornerback position could be considered one of the 49ers’ top needs at this particular point in time.

Both Richard Sherman and Ahkello Witherspoon are gone. The 49ers return Jason Verrett, Emmanuel Moseley, and K’Waun Williams, but it’s impossible to look at San Francisco’s current group of corners and think Gilmore wouldn’t be an upgrade.

New defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans has a bunch of talent to work with on the defensive front seven, but the secondary would be getting a legit CB1 if the 49ers could somehow work out a trade for Gilmore.

That is the kind of move that can help push this team back over the top in the NFC.