Over 13 NFL seasons, Gilmore established himself as a shutdown corner who could destroy any receiver facing him. His career peaked in 2019 when Gilmore led the NFL with 20 passes defensed and six interceptions, earning All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors to line up with the most coveted award: 2019 Defensive Player of the Year.
A year earlier, Gilmore played a key role in a Patriots defense that was statistically mediocre but came together at the perfect time in Super Bowl LIII to shut out the mighty Los Angeles Rams in a 13-3 victory on the sport’s grandest stage. In that contest, Gilmore shined, finishing second in tackles (five), forcing a fumble and intercepting Jared Goff in New England’s red zone late in the fourth quarter to end the Rams’ best and final chance to tie the game.
Like many Patriots near the end of the Bill Belichick era, Gilmore saw his time in New England unceremoniously end during the 2021 season when the Patriots were unable to agree to an extension with Gilmore and instead traded him to his hometown Carolina Panthers in exchange for a sixth-round pick. Gilmore struggled with a quadriceps injury for much of that season before returning on Halloween, appearing in eight games (three starts) and earning his fifth and final Pro Bowl selection while with the 5-12 Panthers.
In his final seasons, Gilmore bounced around as a free agent, spending one season with Indianapolis, Dallas and Minnesota. After spending 2025 out of the league, the 35-year-old Gilmore decided it was time to hang up the shoes that helped him rise to fame.
Gilmore’s pro career began as the first overall pick of the Buffalo Bills out of South Carolina in 2012, and he quickly established himself as an effective cornerback who only got bigger with each passing year. He finally got the recognition he deserved in his fifth and final season in Buffalo, earning a Pro Bowl nod during a season in which Gilmore recorded a career-high 12 passes defensed and five interceptions. Gilmore’s time in Buffalo predated the Bills, but when new coach Sean McDermott arrived and the Bills decided they’d rather move on from their former rival in the first round, a division rival with years of experience playing against Gilmore was happy to snap him up.
The rest is history, a storybook career that can be officially closed with Thursday’s news.