For the uninitiated, this is what Google Gemini tells me is the definition of the term “quiet quitting:”
“Quiet quitting is when an employee mentally disengages from their job and stops doing anything beyond their core responsibilities, rather than formally quitting. It involves doing only the minimum required, avoiding extra effort, and strictly adhering to their job description to maintain work-life balance, often as a response to burnout or a lack of control in the workplace.”
There is a perception across the football world that Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner participated in the act of quiet quitting last season. After suffering a hamstring injury in Week 13, Gardner finished the season on injured reserve, with fans and media wondering if he avoided trying to get back on the field to avoid further injury with a new contract on the line for that upcoming offseason.
Whether or not this was part of the calculus or not, Gardner ended up getting his payday, signing a four-year, $120.4 million contract in July.
So as the weeks have continued to roll along and Patriots All-Pro cornerback Christian Gonzalez remains out with a hamstring injury suffered on July 28, these same concerns from fans and media are popping back up.
The reporting shortly after Gonzalez’s injury was that the 23-year-old was in no danger of missing regular season action. This, obviously, proved to be false - unless there was some sort of setback during his recovery, which has not been confirmed by head coach Mike Vrabel during any of the many press conferences he’s had since the Oregon-product went down.
Is Gonzo more worried about getting his payday this offseason than he is returning to the field to help a Patriots defense that ranks dead-last in the NFL through two weeks?
Are we dealing with another case of “quiet quitting?”
Here’s what The Greg Hill Show had to say about the murky situation surrounding Gonzalez’s injury on Wednesday morning:
Greg Hill: “Injury was July 28, so we are coming up on two months. Is there a normal recovery time on that, Wiggy?”
Jemaine Wiggins: “Not on a hammy? I mean, this must have been a serious, serious hamstring.”
Chris Scheim: “Or there was a setback.”
Chris Curtis: “But Wigs, if he got hurt in the regular season with the hamstring, nobody would say he might be out for the season.”
JW: “They’re saying he might be out for the season?”
CC: “No, I mean - let's just push the date. Instead of July 28, it's September 28. Like, if you get a hamstring injury during the year, it's three to four weeks at the most.”
Courtney Cox: “Well, they're saying severe tears can sometimes require a surgery if you can't get it back on your own, and that could be over a year, right?”
JW: “So that's what I think Dak Prescott had. Like, Dak Prescott had that severe tear of his hamstring. Did it come off the bone? How severe was it?
“Hamstrings are - those are the most finicky, problematic injuries that you get. Because if you don't take the right time, they'll constantly linger. And for somebody in his position, that's an issue that you don't want to deal with. You can get away with it on the D-line, the O-line, maybe at linebacker. But when your game is built around your speed, that's not something that you want to deal with.”
GH: “Well, you gotta get him back. Like, you need him badly.”
JW: “Oh hell yeah. Your pass defense is horrible.”
[caller weighs in, says Gonzalez should wait until he’s 100% healthy to return, otherwise he’ll make is much worse and it will impact him further down the line]
JW: “And he probably knows that. Like, Gonzalez is probably talking to his agent, knowing that - OK, you don't want this to be something that if you go out there, you really mess it up, then it lingers throughout your career.”
CS: “Especially with that new contract looming. Like, this is clearly not a contract hold-out, but it may have the future contract in mind.”
GH: “Right. So it's not a quiet-quit, hold-in, but it is, ‘We're going to be extremely cautious, because after the season, we're going to be looking at - we want a long-term, big money deal.”
JW: “Yep.”
CS: “Yes, exactly.”
CC: “But let’s say the Patriots lose this weekend, and they end up being, like, 3-6, and he's still not back. What's the point of bringing him back then? You know what I mean?”
JW: “Well, it comes back for him - if he's healthy, for him to just continue to push his price up. That's why he would come back.”
CS: “Then if he comes back for a very limited amount of time, limiting the injury risk possibility, and plays lights out for the time he's on, it's more to his case. Like, ‘Hey, look, see? I'm tremendous. I'm fully healthy again. Like, I'm fine. Pay me.’”
Vrabel is scheduled to meet with the media on Wednesday at 12:55 p.m. ET, where he will surely be asked about Gonzalez’s availability for Week 3 against the Steelers.
As of publishing, the Patriots are 1.5-point home dogs against Pittsburgh at FanDuel. You can get them on the moneyline at +110, and the total is set at 44.5.
Tune in each and every Monday throughout the football season to Patriots Monday on WEEI. Head coach Mike Vrabel joins The Greg Hill Show at 6:30 a.m. ET, and quarterback Drake Maye joins WEEI Afternoons.