At this point, the question about New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez might be not whether he can play Week 1, but instead it’s how long before he’s actually back on the field at all.
The third-year cornerback missed basically all of training camp and the preseason with a hamstring injury, and his status for Week 1 against Las Vegas is very much in doubt. Sports Illustrated’s NFL insider Albert Breer wonders if the concerns about Gonzalez’s durability coming out of Oregon are becoming increasingly warranted.
“It’s frustrating for everybody involved. Frustrating for Gonzalez, I think it’s frustrating for the coaches, the expectation is he’d be out there (by now) when this initially happened,” Breer said during an appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher and Hardy” show on Aug. 5. “Hamstrings can be a little unpredictable and obviously I think you guys knows this: that’s one of those that can be very easily reaggravated.”
Patriots Seeing Christian Gonzalez Concerns With Injury
Breer added: “I think some of it does relay back to some of the durability concerns when he was coming out. We’ll see where it goes. This is one of those where you probably don’t want to push it — you don’t want to push it unnecessarily early in the year because this is something that can linger over the year if you do.”
The Patriots obviously felt strong enough about Gonzalez’s potential to make him a first-round pick in 2023. New England took the Oregon product with the 17th overall pick in the draft, despite his slight 6-foot-1, 205-pound frame. The big question, as Breer noted, was how he’d hold up in the NFL, and Gonzalez playing just four games in his rookie season before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury didn’t quiet those much.
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He did bounce back by playing 16 games last season, but the 23-year-old hasn’t practiced since suffering the hamstring injury during practice on July 28.
“There were I think a couple of nagging things in college, but more than anything else, it was his frame, his size; how willing is he to hit?” Breer continued. “There was never a question — athletically, he was off the charts.
“But just from a play style standpoint, toughness standpoint, there were some questions. How was he going to hold up in a grown man’s version of football? Certainly, he’s already had his injuries. He had the shoulder and now this. … This one was more about his physical build and his play style and how much contact did he really take in college, and how would his body react to a more physical version of football?”
Regardless, Gonzalez would like to be on the field, and based on what Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel recently said, the team expected a quicker resolution.
“It just hasn’t gone — again, he’s working hard and whether it’s — again, we can say one injury is going to be three to four weeks, one is going to be one to two (weeks). Everybody heals differently,” Vrabel told reporters on Sept. 1, picking his words very carefully.
Defensively, the Patriots might be able to get away without Gonzalez in Week 1 against the Raiders. Las Vegas under new head coach Pete Carroll and with its lack of pass catchers not named Brock Bowers don’t present a major test for a secondary. However, games against Miami, Pittsburgh, Carolina and even Buffalo present more difficult tests for pass defenses.
NFL Insider Gives Concerning Update About Patriots’ Christian Gonzalez