Colts sign Stephon Gilmore and Rodney McLeod

The Indianapolis Colts attempted to improve their offense earlier in the offseason with the acquisition of Matt Ryan from the Atlanta Falcons. On Monday, they welcomed five-time Pro Bowl cornerback Stephon Gilmore of Rock Hill, South Carolina to improve their defense by signing him to a two-year deal worth a base value of $20 million according to Ian Rapoport of nfl.com. 

Gilmore spent the 2021 NFL season with the Carolina Panthers after being traded by the New England Patriots. Despite only playing eight games with the Panthers due to a torn quad muscle he suffered the previous year in New England, Gilmore was still selected to the Pro Bowl last season. In eight games, he had 16 combined tackles (15 solo tackles and one assisted), one tackle for a loss, two interceptions for 13 yards, and two pass deflections.

Gilmore’s interceptions came in his first two games with Carolina in 2021. He had a zero-yard interception in a 19-13 Panthers win over the Atlanta Falcons on Halloween, and then had a 13-yard pick in a 24-6 Carolina loss to the New England Patriots on November 7.

Prior to playing one season in Carolina, Gilmore played five seasons in Buffalo from 2012 to 2016, and four seasons with the Patriots from 2017 to 2020. He was also selected to the Pro Bowl in 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2020. While with the Patriots in 2019, Gilmore won a Super Bowl, led the National Football League in interceptions (six), pass deflections (20), and was the Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year.

For Gilmore’s career, he has 27 interceptions for 465 yards and two touchdowns, 116 pass deflections, six forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, one sack, 427 combined tackles (374 solo tackles and 53 assisted tackles), eight tackles for a loss, and one quarterback hit. Gilmore’s pick sixes came in a 43-0 Patriots win over the Miami Dolphins on September 15, 2019, and in a 34-13 Patriots win over the Cincinnati Bengals on December 15, 2019.

In addition to signing Gilmore, the Colts also signed safety Rodney McLeod of Hyattsville, Maryland according to colts.com. Like Gilmore, McLeod has won a Super Bowl as he was with the Eagles in 2018. Last season in Philadelphia, he had 58 combined tackles (32 solo tackles and 26 assisted tackles), two interceptions for 24 yards, and four pass deflections. The interceptions came in a 34-10 Eagles win over the New York Giants on Boxing Day, and in a 20-16 Eagles win over the Washington Football Team on January 2.

In 139 games with the St. Louis Rams and Eagles, McLeod has 593 combined tackles (433 solo tackles and 160 assisted tackles), 15 tackles for a loss, two sacks, one quarterback hit, 16 interceptions for 154 yards, 52 pass deflections, 11 forced fumbles, eight fumble recoveries for 97 yards and two touchdowns from fumble recoveries. The touchdowns came in a 24-6 Rams win over the Cleveland Browns on October 25, 2015, and in a 23-9 Eagles win over the Dallas Cowboys on November 1, 2020.

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