The New England Patriots were back at it on Thursday, wrapping up Mandatory Minicamp. However, when the team got to the 11-on-11 period of drills, star cornerback Christian Gonzalez was notably absent.
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel would address that absence. Without getting into much detail, he explained that he and Gonzalez were on the same page.
“I think that’s just something that Christian and I talked about, and making sure that the most important thing is that we’re on the same page, which we are,” Vrabel said.
Gonzalez has been seeking a new contract, and missed OTAs while looking for it. So, while he returned for the mandatory portion of the offseason, he’s still not participating at full speed.
As it stands now, the Patriots exercised their fifth-year option on Gonzalez, which will keep him in New England for another two seasons. However, he is eligible for a contract extension and is widely considered to be among the most underpaid defensive backs in the NFL. In 2026, he’s set to earn just $4.8 million.
Mike Vrabel Knows Christian Gonzalez is Dealing with the Professional Side of Football
GettyNew England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez
There is no doubt that the New England Patriots and Mike Vrabel would love to have Christian Gonzalez as a full participant. It’s just the realities of the business side of football that are in the way.
Shortly after OTAs, before Gonzalez had reported to Mandatory Minicamp, Vrabel spoke about this. Importantly, he made sure to separate the business from the personal, which is hopefully unchanged by contract negotiations.
“Well, I think that there’s, the contract is the business and the professional side of this,” Vrabel said during a press conference. “The personal side, I don’t want to let anything interfere with that. I want Christian to be ready when he comes back. And I would imagine that he would be here next week. And, if he is, then we’ll coach him and be ready to move on and get him ready and get him ready to help us, and help himself. Contracts are part of professional sports. I understand that. But I also know that those should remain private. And, like any contract, you want to make sure (it’s) a negotiation that everybody feels like they get something out of it. And I’ll leave it at that.”
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated is expecting a massive payday for Christian Gonzalez. He recently shared that he thinks a fair deal for Gonzalez would be a four-year, $140 million deal. That’s about $35 million annually.
An Anonymous GM Spoke About the Patriots and Christian Gonzalez’s Contract Talks
GettyNew England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez
If any Patriots fans were concerned that this would be an ongoing saga for Christian Gonzalez, at least one NFL GM thinks otherwise.
Speaking anonymously to Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom, a GM shared that they don’t believe that these contract negotiations will go into the regular season. Instead, the Patriots and Gonzalez should have a deal by then.
“That one gets done before the season,” the GM said. “He’ll get paid.”
The question then becomes whether or not Gonzalez gets his deal before or after Devon Witherspoon of the Seattle Seahawks. Both corners are expecting to get massive new deals, with the second of the two deals likely building off the first.
Patriots HC Mike Vrabel Address Christian Gonzalez Being Absent From Some Drills