Another day, another round of questions for head coach Mike Vrabel on All-Pro cornerback Christian Gonzalez’s availability for Week 1 against the Raiders.
The 23-year-old has not practiced since injuring his hamstring during training camp on July 28, knocking New England’s best defensive player out for the entirety of the preseason.
Not that Gonzalez would have played all that much during the exhibition portion of the schedule, of course, but it’s been no real action for the third-year player in over five weeks with the season opener just days away.
“Are you expecting to have Christian [Gonzalez] out there, and if not, is it safe to say he likely won't be available on Sunday?” asked Karen Guregian of MassLive during Vrabel’s pre-practice press conference on Wednesday.
“Well, I wouldn't say that,” said Vrabel. “He's continuing to work, and he'll do some stuff on the side, but I'm not going to rule anybody out. Stacey [James] just made an announcement about the injury report, so we'll continue to work and treat and make sure that we're doing everything that we can to help him, and he's doing everything he can to get back out on the field. That's the only update I have right now.”
Gonzalez did, indeed, end up missing practice, as Vrabel revealed later in his press conference. And if we needed any more confirmation, he wasn’t out on the field for the media portion of practice, either.
Days after he initially injured his hamstring, Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports reported that Gonzalez’s injury would not put him in danger of missing any regular season action, and that the team was just being careful with their star defensive back.
When The Boston Globe’s Ben Volin attempted to ask Vrabel a follow-up question related to that Schultz report from early in camp, the head coach wasn’t having it.
“I mean - please, guys,” Vrabel interrupted. “I mean, this is the first Wednesday of the season and he's not going to be at practice. Just please use your time as efficiently as we can about our team, about the Raiders.
“And I know Christian is a large part of our team, but he's not going to be out there today. So, that's all I can update you with. Do you have anything else since I cut you off?”
(for those wondering, he went on to answer an innocuous question about the Raiders)
Despite Vrabel being unwilling to outright rule out Gonzalez, his comments before practice on Wednesday weren’t exactly a beacon of optimism. And in cutting off Volin’s perfectly valid follow-up, it didn’t help make the situation seem any brighter.
Vrabel’s Wednesday comments on Gonzalez are in the same vein as his Monday comments with The Greg Hill Show:
Question: “Any update on the health of Christian Gonzalez?”
Mike Vrabel: “Yeah, I wouldn't anticipate him out here today. So, hopefully that improves. But, he's working hard and trying to improve, and he wants to be out there. I think what’s good for us and for Christian and the team is to try not to be frustrated. Obviously, those things happen, and it's how we respond to them. It's how hard we work to get back, the communication, all the things that he's doing. So, just continue to work hard to get back and try to make sure that we're doing everything we can to help him.”
Q: “Is there a concern for him on Sunday with the timing and the days dwindling?”
MV: “Well, again, I think that – get him back for practice first, and then we'll have an update and status for Sunday.”
Q: “Mike, you mentioned making an effort, not to be frustrated. Is that something either the team or Christian has felt?”
MV: “No, that's in my own personal experience of, when you're not in there, right? When you're not in there with the team, I guess. And I appreciate you actually clarifying or asking. Those are just things in the course of my career or being a coach and dealing with players, that they want to play, they want to be out there, right? So, those are, I guess, the things that I've tried to talk to all the players about is, the time that you're not on the field is how you stay engaged and stay into the meetings and the schedule and just – they all want to play. So, again, I think that was just a broad term for things that I try to focus on when guys aren't out there. That could go for Jahlani [Tavai] or anybody else at this point.”
Q: “Without getting into timelines, has Christian had a setback at all?”
MV: “Well, it just hasn't gone – again, he's working hard, and whether it's – again, we can say one injury is going to be three-to-four weeks, one is going to be one-to-two. Everybody heals differently. So, just making sure that when the players are back that they can do their job with confidence, that they can protect themselves on the field, and that they can't make it any worse. Those are some things that I try to use as guidelines for when players are ready to play and get back there.”
Q: “You talked about the players not trying to get frustrated with the setbacks. What have you seen from that cornerback room and specifically with the depth you have at that position with Gonzalez sidelined?”
MV: “Well, I mean, I think D.J. [James] was one of our more improved players over the course of rookie minicamp, he participated in that as a veteran and hadn’t had the ability to participate in that until now. Double A [Alex Austin] has done a nice job of going out there and playing corner or playing nickel. Marcus [Jones] provides a lot of leadership in there. It's been good to have CD [Carlton Davis III] string some days together. So, it provides opportunity for other guys. We'd love to have Gonzo back, trust me, we would, but I think the other guys have stepped up and tried to take advantage of the opportunity.”
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