The Vikings added a veteran presence at cornerback with Stephon Gilmore, giving them another option in their defensive backfield.
Speaking with the media on Monday, head coach Kevin O’Connell said that Minnesota has been monitoring Gilmore’s availability dating back to last year.
“A guy like that, that’s played such good football for so long, former defensive player of the year, a lot of times those guys are going to be selective about where they’re going to continue playing, and that’s why I feel strongly,” O’Connell said, via transcript from the team. “I know it was competitive.
“A lot of teams may be checking in on him and figuring out if they could potentially add him to their team. We wanted to make sure he knew what this opportunity would be not only on the field, but I think he’s got an unbelievable opportunity to impact our team with the type of person, and player, and leader that he’s always been. I think he’s going to be able to have a huge impact on our team.”
Gilmore is familiar with the defensive system, given his shared time with coordinator Brian Flores when they were both on the Patriots. That should help with getting Gilmore up to speed for the season.
“Yeah, I think he’s been in a lot of different defensive schemes,” O’Connell said. “I think he has a good familiarity with ‘Flo’ and some of the things that we may call, schemes we may run, and I think he’s excited to learn kind of what Flo’s done with the defense here over the last couple years and into this season, so I’ll be excited to get him out rolling.”
