Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore wants a new contract, but he’s not about to miss important practice sessions with his team to build leverage. Gilmore tells Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter) that he’ll report to Pittsford, New York later this week. 
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“I‘m planning to go out to training camp. I know what I am. It’ll happen eventually,” Gilmore said.
Gilmore is slated to earn $11.082MM for 2016, per the terms of his exercised fifth-year option. The two sides have been discussing an extension this offseason but the 25-year-old (26 in September) elected to table talks earlier this month as talks stalled. Still, it was widely expected Gilmore would report to training camp as he would be docked $40K for each day missed.
Gilmore wants a deal that would put him in the neighborhood of Josh Norman‘s five-year, $75MM contract with the Redskins. The Bills, so far, have been reluctant to approach those numbers. It’s not surprising that Gilmore is looking for that kind of money, particularly after placing ninth among 111 qualifying corners last season, per the advanced numbers at Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Norman, meanwhile, finished 11th.
Without a long-term deal, Gilmore stands to be among the top corners available in free agency in 2017, along with Trumaine Johnson and hybrid defender Tyrann Mathieu. The Bills may not want to take that plunge today, but a Gilmore extension could free up enough cash to ink quarterback Tyrod Taylor to a new deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.