The New England Patriots and Christian Gonzalez have been trying to find common ground on a contract extension.
Following the Devon Witherspoon deal, could the prime factor holding up a deal be around Gonzalez’s past injuries and how New England typically approaches that?
CBS Sports contract expert Joel Corry mentioned that Witherspoon’s four-year, $132 million extension includes $101.26 million in guarantees and $59.26 million fully guaranteed, both records for a cornerback.
Corry added that New England may have concerns about matching those benchmarks while also pointing to the Patriots’ recent use of large per-game roster bonuses.
Those bonuses offer teams protection when players miss games. And Gonzalez has missed more time than Witherspoon since both entered the NFL as first-round picks in 2023.
Gonzalez Has Played 9 Fewer Games Than Devon Witherspoon
Gonzalez has played 34 regular-season games over his first three seasons, per Pro Football Reference. Witherspoon has appeared in 43 over the same span.
The difference starts with Gonzalez’s rookie year.
He played four games before suffering a torn labrum in his right shoulder that required surgery and ended his season. The injury cost him the final 13 games of 2023. The Patriots placed Gonzalez on injured reserve following the injury.
Gonzalez rebounded to start 16 games in 2024, earning second-team All-Pro honors, but a concussion kept him out of the finale. His availability became a concern again the following summer when a hamstring injury suffered on July 28 sidelined him for the first three games of 2025.
The Patriots said Gonzalez went 51 days between practices before returning.
Witherspoon has dealt with his own injuries. He played 14 games as a rookie, all 17 in 2024 and 12 in 2025. A knee injury suffered in Seattle’s 2025 opener eventually caused him to miss five games, via the Seahawks.
Still, Gonzalez has appeared in 34 of a possible 51 regular-season games, compared with 43 for Witherspoon. Gonzalez also carries the more significant single injury, with the shoulder issue requiring surgery and wiping out most of his rookie season.
Patriots Could Protect Themselves With Gonzalez Contract Structure
Corry connected those durability questions directly to one possible sticking point in negotiations.
He noted that New England already gives Carlton Davis $1.275 million annually in per-game roster bonuses under his three-year, $54 million contract. Witherspoon’s new deal contains $850,000 per year in per-game bonuses beginning in 2027.
Corry wrote that it “wouldn’t be surprising” if the Patriots pushed for Gonzalez to receive significantly larger per-game bonuses than Witherspoon, adding that New England could view them as necessary because of Gonzalez’s durability history.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in July that the team had offered Gonzalez a contract that would make him the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback. Executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf later indicated the club’s latest offer still carried that distinction.
Yet Gonzalez remains without an extension heading toward New England’s Sept. 9 opener against Seattle.
Witherspoon gives Gonzalez a logical comparison. Both were selected in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft, both are among the league’s premier young cornerbacks and both are represented by agent Reggie Johnson.
In the end, cash flow, total guarantees, fully guaranteed money and guarantee vesting are among the structural issues Corry identified as possible hurdles.
But if New England wants more protection than Seattle accepted with Witherspoon, Gonzalez’s 17 missed regular-season games provide an argument for why.
Patriots’ Christian Gonzalez Injury History Looms Over 9-Figure Contract Talks