Buccaneers: 3 trade packages moving TE Cameron Brate

Buccaneers and Patriots

Buccaneers receive: Stephon Gilmore

Patriots receive: Cameron Brate and Buccaneers 2021 third-round pick

The relationship between Stephon Gilmore and the Patriots remains an enigma. During last offseason and leading up to the trade deadline, the belief was that Gilmore wanted out of New England, but those talks have grown quiet recently.

Generally, where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and Gilmore could still search for a way out of New England before the season begins. While the Buccaneers shouldn’t want to move on from any of their corners, Gilmore’s addition would go a long way towards helping the secondary take its next steps.

Gilmore, who is set to make just shy of nine million dollars from the Patriots in 2021 regardless of his play, is also on the hook for and additional seven million from whichever team he plays for. The Bucs would move on from Brate, which frees up just over six million, and then they would only pay Gilmore less than a million dollars extra from their remaining space.

This move brings the Buccaneers a proven, veteran man corner, and the Patriots get some compensation for a player that is likely leaving at the end of the season with a pass-catcher added in. Brate, in year one, could lead the Patriots in receiving yards given their current predicament, and New England would keep him for a great price.

The Patriots should be wholly focused on a rebuild for the time being, and any compensation at all for talented veterans makes a world of difference for a team in that position. On the other hand, the Buccaneers are moving into their second season of going all in, and Gilmore improves the prospects of a repeat in the Super Bowl dramatically.