Stephon Gilmore spent one season with the Indianapolis Colts out of his 13 in the NFL. He won't be remembered by many football fans as playing for Indy. Heck, he might not even be remembered by most Colts fans that he played in Indianapolis.
He won't play for Indy ever again, either. Gilmore, the five-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro, decided to call it a career this week and retire. He was one of the best cornerbacks of his generation and was quite solid for Indianapolis, too. The shame is that he didn't play with the team for long.
In 2022, Gilmore started 16 games for Indianapolis, had two interceptions, 11 passes defended, allowed just two touchdown passes, and had a stellar quarterback rating allowed of 78.7. He also missed just seven percent of his tackles, and his tackling ability was one of the more underrated aspects of his game.
Former Indianapolis Colts cornerback Stephon Gilmore hangs up his cleats
He wasn't done in the league after that season, however. He started 17 games for the Dallas Cowboys the following season, and 15 for the Minnesota Vikings in 2024. He wasn't signed last season, however, which led to the inevitable decision to retire.
At 35 years old, teams aren't going to pay much for a once-great cornerback. No team had bought into him being a long-term answer for a while. He had played on a different team every season from 2021 onward. Injuries were a major concern in 2020 and 2021, but he proved he could stay healthy in the end.
He wasn't awful in 2024, either. His quarterback rating rose to 94.1, which is far from elite, but not the worst in the NFL. He also missed just 5.1 percent of his tackle attempts. He was no longer a CB1, but he remained a solid depth piece.
On Instagram this week, while announcing his retirement, Gilmore wrote, in part, "...to the fans—thank you for your support. I have had an incredible 13 years in the League, and I cannot wait to see what this next chapter holds."
What the next chapter holds for the player who will likely be best remembered as part of the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots is unknown. He was well-spoken and had a high football IQ, so maybe he will become a staple on game broadcasts. Maybe he will go into coaching. He literally could do anything, and made enough money playing football to do it.
Like many, though, the decision when to retire was not his own. He was forced to do that basically after the 2024 season. No team was willing to sign him. As well as he was playing until the end, though, that was probably a given team's fault, and not Stephon Gilmore's.