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News | Minnesota Vikings – vikings.com

5 Things to Know About Vikings New CB Stephon Gilmore

#2 CB Stephon Gilmore
#2 CB Stephon Gilmore

EAGAN, Minn. – The Vikings have added an experienced vet to their cornerbacks room.

Minnesota has signed Stephon Gilmore, the team announced Monday.

Gilmore, who will turn 34 on Sept. 19, started all 17 regular-season games and a postseason contest for the Cowboys last season. He recorded 68 tackles, two interceptions, a forced fumble and 13 passes defensed.

Gilmore was originally the 10th overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Bills, with whom he spent his first five pro seasons. He then played for the Patriots (2017-21), Panthers (2021) and Colts (2022) before joining the Cowboys for 2023.

View photos of Vikings CB Stephon Gilmore who signed with the team on Aug. 18.

In 12 seasons, Gilmore has played 165 regular-season games and made 158 starts. He's received five Pro Bowl nods (2016; 2018-21) and was named a First-Team All-Pro by The Associated Press in 2018 and 2019, as well as the 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

Here are five things to know about the Vikings newest corner:

1. Familiarity with Flores & Pettine

Gilmore is well known around the NFL, but he's personally known by two of Minnesota's coaches, Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores and Assistant Head Coach/Outside Linebackers Mike Pettine.

Pettine and Gilmore overlapped in 2013 in Buffalo, where Pettine was hired that season as the Bills defensive coordinator. Then in 2017 and 2018, Gilmore was in New England while Flores served as the Patriots linebackers coach. Though he wasn't specifically Gilmore's position coach, Flores is plenty familiar with his skill set and how he can add to Minnesota's defensive system.

2. Defensive Player of the Year

As noted above, Gilmore was named the 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year by The Associated Press.

He certainly made his case for the honor with an impressive six interceptions, which tied for the league lead that season, including two he returned for touchdowns.

View photos of the Vikings 53-man roster as of November 27, 2024.

Gilmore also racked up 53 tackles and a season-high 20 passes defensed, plus a fumble recovery.

He was the first defensive back to win the award since safety Troy Polamalu in 2010, and no DB has garnered the award since.

3. AFC Championship star

In his first season with New England, Gilmore helped the 2017 Patriots reach the AFC Championship Game against Jacksonville. It was there he made one of the biggest plays of his career.

With under 2 minutes remaining, the Jaguars had an opportunity to drive down the field and set themselves up for a touchdown to take a 27-24 lead.

Jacksonville QB Blake Bortles was sacked on second down, creating a third-and-19. A handoff to James O'Shaughnessy gained just 4 yards, and the Jaguars faced fourth-and-15 with one final shot. Bortles launched a deep pass to Dede Westbrook, and Gilmore made an incredible pass breakup to seal the Patriots trip to Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis. They would go on to be defeated by the Eagles.

4. Super Bowl champion

Gilmore played in back-to-back Super Bowls with the Patriots and earned a ring on the second go-round.

The 2018 season, after which he earned his first All-Pro designation, culminated with Super Bowl LIII against the Rams. Gilmore snagged a fourth-quarter interception of Jared Goff near the goal line, prohibiting a game-tying touchdown and helping the Patriots to a 13-3 victory.

5. Focused on family

Gilmore is the oldest of six siblings and grew up often helping watch his sisters and brother while his parents, Linda and Steve, were working.

When Gilmore got his first tattoo as an elder teenager (with his father's permission), he had a family tree inked across his left arm and shoulder. Linda and Steve are featured, along with the tree's branches that are labeled with the siblings' names: Stephon, Sabrina, Sierra, Scarlet and Steven.

"My mom and dad raised me the right way, and that's why I'm the person I am now," Gilmore said of his family upon being drafted in 2012. "I'm a respectful person and treat people right. My sisters and brothers always had my back. They helped me make decisions through it all."

Now a father himself, Stephon and his wife Gabrielle focus on raising their own three children – Sebastian, Gisele and Gael – the right way.

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