New England Patriots and cornerback Stephon Gilmore agreed to convert a significant portion of his contract to a signing bonus, which freed up $5.67 million in cap space for the upcoming season. The Patriots should have $8.2 million in cap space after this move, according to cap guru @PatsCap.
That creates some much-needed relief for a team that had essentially just enough cash to sign their 2019 draft class, as noted by The Providence Journal’s Mark Daniels. The Patriots have 12 picks in the upcoming draft, including six in the first 101 selections.
Gilmore tweaked his contract during 2018 to create cap space, though he and the Patriots waited until October to make the adjustment. The Patriots can make more space by doing this to other big contracts on the team or by signing players like Tom Brady and Devin McCourty to an extension. The only issue is that these conversions of salary to signing bonus can put weight on the cap in future years.
In the meantime, the Patriots have some breathing to continue shopping in free agency, if they see an attractive free agent.
