Star cornerback Christian Gonzalez returned to Patriots practice Monday after a week and a half of absences which the team attributed to an injury. Gonzalez has been in contract negotiations with the Patriots this summer.
He was a full participant, and beat All-Pro receiver A.J. Brown in his first 1-on-1 drill. He had a near-interception on a corner route run by Brown.
Romeo Doubs had Gonzalez’ number on two reps in 7-on-7, beating the corner in coverage on both a dig route and out-route. Drake Maye overshot Doubs on a crossing route in the endzone with Gonzalez on the assignment.
Gonzalez looked like he was running smoothly and showed no signs of being hobbled, despite missing all three joint practices the Patriots ran against both the Indianapolis Colts and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Head coach Mike Vrabel was asked whether Gonzalez will be ready to play in Week 1 of the season against the Seattle Seahawks, but he didn’t commit a decision. The Patriots open on Wednesday, September 9th – just over two weeks away.
“I’m going to focus on today. I’m not ready to talk about Week 1. I hope that we have to do everything we can to get the guys ready. Each guy has to be ready individually, and then I have to find a way to make sure that the football team is ready and that we’re conditioned and ready to go,” Vrabel said.
Vrabel also sidestepped questions pertaining to Gonzalez’ contract during his weekly appearance on ‘The Greg Hill Show’ on WEEI Monday morning.
Safety Kevin Byard has a locker next to Gonzalez and expressed his admiration for how he's handled himself this summer amid contract talks.
"When you got a contract, probably, of this magnitude, they kind of take a little bit of time," he said. "There's not really too much advice you can give a guy. You can just if he wants to talk about it. I'm there for him have conversations."
"I think he's been handling it just as good as anybody could," he added. "You know what I mean? This is a life-changing situation for him. You know what I mean? Like I get it. You know, it's ball and all this other stuff, but it's life-changing. So, I can only imagine there's probably some emotional things like that. But I think he's being a pro. You know, he's being a pro about it. He's still being team first."
Teammate Christian Elliss gave the cornerback credit for his return, despite not having a deal finalized.
“He’s a ball player first and foremost,” the linebacker said after practice. He shared that he didn’t know whether he would be returning to practice or not until he saw him out on the field.
Gonzalez has played three seasons for the Patriots. He missed three games last season managing a hamstring injury he sustained during training camp, but was a Pro-Bowler and had a standout performance against the Seahawks in Super Bowl 60. He was drafted by the Patriots in the first round in 2023, but only played four games due to an injury in Week 4.
