Patriots' Stephon Gilmore 'not surprised' Tom Brady jumped ship, praises Jarrett Stidham
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New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore said in an interview published Sunday he wasn’t surprised Tom Brady jumped ship to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The reigning AP Defensive Player of the Year told ESPN that Brady leaving for the Buccaneers was more of a business move than anything else.
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“Not surprised,” Gilmore said. “A player like him, playing somewhere that long, you never can see it, but it shows you that in the National Football League it can be anyone going somewhere. It's a business, and that's how you have to look at it.”
Gilmore also had praise for Jarrett Stidham, who is expected to be in the fight for Brady’s job come training camp.
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“He came in and worked hard and got better and better as the year went on. He has a strong arm,” Gilmore said of the second-year quarterback. “He makes some tough throws. Definitely made it hard on me in practice each and every week, going against whoever I was covering, making some great throws. It allowed me to get better in practice to prepare for the games.”
It’s unclear what the Patriots will do when it comes to their quarterback situation.
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Stidham and Cody Kessler were on the roster at the close of the 2019 season. The Patriots signed Brian Hoyer to a one-year deal last week.