Gilmore is due to make $7 million this season and is likely using his absence as a negotiating ploy for a new deal and extension. If he misses all three days of the mandatory minicamp, he is subject to just under $100,000 in fines from the team.
The 30-year-old was reportedly shopped around the league at the trade deadline last season. He missed the final five games of the season after undergoing surgery on a torn quad. Gilmore led the NFL with six interceptions, and 20 passes defended in 2019 as he won the DPOY.
A four-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro, Gilmore has 25 career receptions and six forced fumbles in 10 seasons. He joined the Patriots from the Buffalo Bills before the 2017 season and has two interceptions in seven career playoff games for the Pats. His interception of Jared Goff in the end zone with 4:24 to play in the fourth quarter preserved the Patriots’ 10-3 lead in Super Bowl LIII.
Gilmore is +3300 at DraftKings to win the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year Award. Those odds rank him tied for ninth with Aaron Donald (+400) and Myles Garrett (+600) as the favorites.
Newton Back on the Field
The good news for the Patriots is that quarterback Cam Newton is healthy and back on the field. Newton injured his hand at the OTA less than two weeks ago when he hit the helmet of a teammate on a pass follow through.
Newton went through workouts on Friday and is back under center running the offense at Monday’s minicamp. Newton is +6600 to be the 2021 NFL MVP, and the Patriots are +3300 to win the Super Bowl.
Bell Lashes Out at Andy Reid
Things did not go well for Le’Veon Bell in Kansas City last season, and now he is lashing out at head coach Andy Reid. The former New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers running back wrote on social media over the weekend that “I’ll never play for Andry Reid again. I’d retire first.”
Bell signed with the Chiefs in Week 6 last season after being released by the Jets. He was inactive for a couple of games and didn’t play at all in the Chiefs Super Bowl loss to Tampa Bay.
He is currently a free agent, and given the way he has worn out his welcome at each spot, he may have trouble finding a contract for 2021. Bell ran for at least 1268 yards in three of his five seasons in Pittsburgh before holding out and missing the 2018 season. He ran for just 789 yards in 15 games for the Jets in 2019 and scored only three times.
Last year he ran for 328 yards in 11 games with only two starts in Kansas City and two in New York. His longest run from scrimmage since 2017 is for just 19 yards.
The Chiefs are unlikely to miss a beat without Bell. They have Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the backfield with Darrel Williams and Jerick McKinnon. Kansas City is the Super Bowl favorite at +500, and they are +250 to win the AFC.