New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel confirmed corner Christian Gonzalez is in the building for minicamp, and that conversations have gone smoothly with the corner. Gonzalez has been a hot topic of discussion over the course of this offseason, and we were finally able to get some clarity on the situation.
Gonzalez did not appear at voluntary OTA’s, as he awaits a new contract. Patriots to get him to put pen to paper in one aspect, as he officially exercised his fifth-year contract option for 2027. The Patriots are able to get him at a decent rate, as he is set to make just $2.8 million in cash for 2026.
NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reported last week on a potential deal for Gonzalez. He believes that a deal will get done before the Patriots’ week one contest against the Seattle Seahawks. In the meantime, Gonzalez is at minicamp. There have been discussions between him and Vrabel, as noted by Patriots.com Evan Lazar.
Contract Talks Come At Difficult Time For Patriots
Gonzalez contract comes at a time when corners are either resetting, or due to reset the market. Most recently, Trent McDuffie signed a four-year $24 million deal with the Los Angeles Rams in March. This included $31 million per year with $100 million in guarantees.
Another player to watch here is Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon. He is also due for a new deal. Seattle officially exercised his $21.16 million option. With that in mind, both sides are ‘not close’ on a new deal. Newsweek’s Michael Gallagher reported this.
Gonzalez’s appearance at minicamp is certainly a positive sign. Although he is not participating in any drills, he is still with the team. He has also been close to his teammates during this process. He was at Drake Maye’s charity softball game earlier this month. In addition, he hosted a charity basketball game at his alma mater. A. J. Brown, among others, were in attendance. There certainly has been no indication that Gonzalez is not being a good teammate, at least for now.
Something Worth Watching For Patriots
In any event, this will be something worth watching. Gonzalez has been a hallmark of the Patriots’ defense ever since he was drafted in 2023. One has to think that the Witherspoon deal would ultimately dictate what Gonzalez wants as well. It’s become very clear that Gonzalez wants to set the market.
It will be interesting to see how long the stretches out. Hopefully, this will indeed get resolved by the time the Patriots take on the defending-champion Seahawks. If not, in-season negotiations could be a bit of a distraction. Ultimately, time will tell when the deal will get done and what the market looks like after it. Vrabel seems to be monitoring the situation appropriately, and Gonzalez is doing all that he needs to for right now. He showed up for practice and will be taking part in team activities over the next couple of days.
The Patriots would be wise to lock up one of their young stars for the foreseeable future. The team already plans to do that with quarterback Drake Maye, and they should do the same for Gonzalez.
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