FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Stephon Gilmore wasn’t known for being much of a talker during his 13 NFL seasons.
But one of the most dominant cornerbacks of his era is officially retiring with the team with whom he had the most success during his career.
The 35-year-old Gilmore returned to New England on Friday to sign a one-day contract and retire as a member of the Patriots, the team he won his lone Super Bowl with to cap the 2018 season.
“I had great early years in my career, but I think once I came to New England I really grew into myself,” Gilmore said.
Gilmore last played in the NFL in 2024 with the Minnesota Vikings and previously announced his retirement in April via an Instagram post.
Selected 10th in the 2012 draft by the Buffalo Bills, Gilmore established himself as one of the league’s premier players in the secondary over the next five seasons.
Gilmore was an instant standout in New England’s secondary after arriving as a free agent from Buffalo in 2017.
He earned the first of two straight AP All-Pro selections in his second season with the Patriots in 2018. He also had the game-clinching interception late in the fourth quarter of New England’s 13-3 Super Bowl win over the Los Angeles Rams to cap that season.
In 2019 he became the first player in Patriots history to be named NFL Defensive Player of the Year, leading the league with a career-high six interceptions, two returned for touchdowns. In addition, he had a career-high 20 pass breakups in both 2018 and 2019.
Gilmore and the Patriots lost to coach Mike Vrabel's Tennessee Titans in the wild-card round the following season. Vrabel said Gilmore's skill set was hard to game plan against.
“Never looked too stressed. I think that was always a thing: He just always looked smooth and under control,” said Vrabel, now the Patriots coach. “Yeah, we didn’t throw for many yards that game."
Gilmore was traded to the Carolina Panthers during the 2021 season.
His career includes stints with the Bills (2012-16), Patriots (2017-20), Panthers (2021), Indianapolis Colts (2022), Dallas Cowboys (2023) and Vikings (2024).
The five-time Pro Bowl selection ends his career with 32 interceptions and 149 pass breakouts.
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
FILE - New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore warms up before an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in Foxborough, Mass., Oct. 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
MINNA, Nigeria (AP) — Police in central Nigeria fired tear gas Friday at crowds who gathered to protest the deaths of 37 miners while in custody on illegal mining charges, with activists disputing the official line that they may have died of a disease outbreak.
The deaths are under investigation. The civil defense corps said the miners, who were arrested earlier this week on suspicion of mining illegally, had died as a result of a suspected illness and that their bodies were sent to a hospital for examination. However, survivors told The Associated Press the detainees were packed in a poorly ventilated cell and suggested the victims died of suffocation.
The protesters claimed the miners were killed in retaliation for earlier attacks by some miners on officers. The government suspended the commandant of Niger state’s civil defense corps on Friday.
“It is an unfortunate incident,” Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo said in a statement. “However, a full investigation will be conducted while the commandant under whose watch this happened remains suspended.”
The state government imposed a 12-hour curfew starting from 6 p.m. on Friday following attacks by some of the protesters on other residents.
Dozens of young people, including miners and their relatives, gathered near the civil defense corps’ office in Minna, the capital of Niger state. Police cordoned off the area and attempted to disperse the protesters by firing tear gas canisters.
“There will be no attempt to shield anyone found culpable. At the same time, we mustn’t prejudge the outcome of the investigation,” Minister of Information Mohammed Idris said.
Illegal mining is a serious problem in Nigeria, where analysts say it funds activities of armed groups, some of whom control the mines.
Families of miners who were arrested on suspicion of illegal mining and died in custody wait outside a hospital where their bodies are being held in Minna, Nigeria, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Afolabi Sotunde)
Families of miners who were arrested on suspicion of illegal mining and died in custody wait outside a hospital where their bodies are being held in Minna, Nigeria, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Afolabi Sotunde)
Families of miners who were arrested on suspicion of illegal mining and died in custody wait outside a hospital where their bodies are being held in Minna, Nigeria, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Afolabi Sotunde)
Families and relatives of miners who were arrested on suspicion of illegal mining wait outside a hospital where their bodies are stored in Minna, Nigeria, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammed Nura)
Families and relatives of miners who were arrested on suspicion of illegal mining wait outside a hospital where their bodies are stored in Minna, Nigeria, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammed Nura)
Families and relatives of miners who were arrested on suspicion of illegal mining wait outside a hospital where their bodies are stored in Minna, Nigeria, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammed Nura)
