The 5 NFL teams who need Stephon Gilmore the most

Bill Belichick doesn’t wait for his star players to stick around a year too late. For the past two decades he’s been happy to jettison expensive veterans even when it seems they’ve got plenty left in the tank.

On Wednesday, former defensive player of the year Stephon Gilmore joined Lawyer Milloy, Richard Seymour, Logan Mankins, and Jamie Collins on an ever-growing list of surprise Patriots departures. New England released the lockdown cornerback Wednesday, making him a free agent after four-plus seasons with Belichick.

The move came down to a contract impasse. Gilmore was in the final season of a five-year, $65 million deal that was, at the time, one of the richest contract the Pats had ever handed out. Belichick and the 31-year-old defensive back didn’t reportedly see eye to eye on the price of an extension. Rather than limp through a lame duck year with varying salary cap ramifications or work out a trade, New England opted to allow the five-time Pro Bowler to leave early.

Gilmore hasn’t played this season due to a lower body injury. He’s eligible to come off the physically unable to perform (PUP) list after Week 6. That means there’s no rush to sign a contract — but here are the teams who are likely frantically texting his agent this morning.