Will Stephon Gilmore play for Panthers on Sunday? Matt Rhule said it will depend on this

It’s still too early to tell whether Stephon Gilmore will play for the Carolina Panthers on Sunday against the New York Giants.

He practiced for the first time Wednesday, but the Panthers have not activated him from the team’s Physically Unable to Perform list.

Gilmore is coming off a groin injury he suffered with the New England Patriots in late in the 2020 season.

But whether he plays, Panthers coach Matt Rhule said, depends on how his body responds after Wednesday’s practice.

“Obviously, I’d love to have him play Sunday,” Rhule said. “Will he play? Will he not play? I don’t know.”

Rhule added that he’d have to look at the tape from practice before he could give a proper evaluation of how the veteran cornerback looked.

The Panthers traded for Gilmore earlier this month a few weeks after losing rookie Jaycee Horn to a broken foot. They hoped Gilmore could be someone they could plug in right away to keep up the success the defense was having at the time.

But the Panthers (3-3) have lost three consecutive games after starting 3-0. Their defense has struggled in two of their last three games. And while their secondary hasn’t been the biggest problem, it hasn’t been great.

The Panthers have allowed seven passing touchdowns in the past three games — four against the Cowboys in Week 4 and three against the Vikings in Week 6. And Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, who is averaging 285.2 yards passing in the five games he finished, won’t be an easy matchup.

Gilmore, 31, was the NFL’s defensive player of the year in 2019 and an All-Pro cornerback after posting six interceptions and 20 pass deflections. His numbers dropped off in 2020 as he dealt with COVID and the groin injury.

He allowed 28 catches and one touchdown in 11 games last season.

He remains one of the most feared defenders in the NFL.

Gilmore’s addition would be welcomed. The Panthers need another ball hawk. Jackson and Horn are the only Panthers cornerbacks with an interception this season, and Horn isn’t coming back soon.

“He’s so savvy, he’s so smart about — his football IQ is just high,” Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson said Wednesday. “He does a lot of things and sees a lot of things differently.”

He added that Gilmore’s addition would give them a comfort level, given his veteran presence.

“He’s been in the fire a lot,” Jackson said.

A.J. Bouye and rookie Keith Taylor have both had big moments, but the Panthers need to generate more interceptions. The Panthers rank 23rd in the NFL out of 32 teams with four interceptions this season, and have a minus-4 turnover margin through six games.

When asked his expectation of Gilmore, Rhule said he just wanted Gilmore to be healthy.

“I think one of the worst things you can do to football players is have expectations based on what they did in the past,” Rhule said. “We have a standard for how we want guys to play.

“As you can see last (Sunday), I’m not really not concerned about any one player. All of us, the entire team, the coaching staff, we’ve got to play better football.”