The Stephon Gilmore saga in Foxborough is finally over, as the cornerback and the New England Patriots have parted ways, with the team releasing the 31-year-old veteran. With Gilmore out in the NFL wild and looking for a new home, Tom Brady should not be wasting time trying to track down his old teammate and persuade Gilmore into running it back with him and Rob Gronkowski with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady has to put on his LeBron James hat (or crown) and lure Stephon Gilmore into the NFC South.

This isn't just for sentimental reasons for Brady, though. The Buccaneers indeed need help in their passing defense that is banged up right now, particularly on the secondary. Tampa Bay is pretty banged up in the cornerback position. The Buccaneers have already placed Sean Murphy-Bunting on the injured reserve one game deep into the season. Carlton Davis sustained an apparent quad injury in a Week 4 win against the Patriots. Jamel Dean suffered a knee injury in their Week 3 loss to the Los Angeles Rams that sidelined him for the New England game a week later.

There is no better option out there to plug the gaping hole on the Buccaneers' leaky pass defense than Stephon Gilmore, whom the team should be able to afford, perhaps with the help of some front office maneuvers here and there. The Buccaneers have over $3.3 million in cap space. More than the money, Tampa Bay can also offer Stephon Gilmore something that many teams can't put on the table with a straight face: a legitimate chance to win a Super Bowl.

Despite a defense that is allowing the most passing yards per game (327.5) and one that's ranked just 19th overall by Football Outsiders in Defense-adjusted Value Over Average or DVOA with a 0.1% clip, the Bucs are on top of their division with a 3-1 record. The loss to the Rams underscored the need for the Buccaneers to address their depth issues in the secondary, which led them to sign veteran Richard Sherman, who's serviceable but clearly is past his prime.

Tom Brady has managed to woo Gronkowski out of retirement, get Antonio Brown to Tampa, and recruit a former rival in Sherman. Stephon Stephon Gilmore could be next.