New England Patriots
Gonzalez directly called out the reporter, Greg Bedard, on social media Friday.
Christian Gonzalez is widely viewed as a premier corner in the NFL. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Christian Gonzalez has solidified his position as a top-tier corner in the NFL, and along with that, positioned himself for a lucrative contract extension.
That deal is likely to get done before the upcoming NFL season, though it’s left some questioning if Gonzalez is truly worth the hefty deal, knowing that a large Drake Maye extension is on the horizon for the Patriots as well.
On Friday, Patriots reporter Greg Bedard reported that there are some within the Patriots organization who don’t think Gonzalez is physical enough from his corner position.
“One knock on Gonzalez, some scouts and coaches believe he’s not physical enough,” Bedard said on his show, “Patriots Podcast.” “I would say you could include some people with the Patriots also thinking that.”
Gonzalez didn’t take kindly to the report, and directly called out Bedard on the social media website X on Friday afternoon.
“Greg Bedard got [something] new to say about me every day lol,” Gonzalez posted.
Bedard responded, blaming aggregators for the way his message came across.
“My advice would be don’t ever give those guys any sort of attention. This is what they dream of,” Bedard said.
.@GregABedard has a message for aggregators & Christian Gonzalez:
“My advice would be don’t ever give those guys any sort of attention. This is what they dream of. They wanna tag the athlete, they wanna tag the media member, and they’re hoping somebody amplifies it.”
Watch NEW… pic.twitter.com/uMlg5DjTH0
— Patriots on CLNS (@PatriotsCLNS) July 10, 2026
Gonzalez hasn’t exactly been one of the premier run-stuffing corners in the NFL, but he hasn’t been a slouch in that regard, either. He registered 69 tackles, including 54 solo, in 2025. For reference, Kamari Lassiter — who’s regarded as one of the more physical corners in the NFL — registered 91 total tackles in 2025, but only 62 solo tackles. So the discrepancy is fairly small.
And if there was ever a question about Gonzalez’s physicality in coverage, he can certainly quell that by sticking tight to nearly all of his matchups since entering the NFL in 2023. Even Tyreek Hill gave Gonzalez flowers as a rookie for the way he lined up against the speedster.
So, if there are people in New England questioning Gonzalez’s physicality as Bedard stated, those concerns don’t seem to overshadow the strengths he brings at the position.
Gonzalez will lead an improved Patriots secondary in 2026, as the team added veteran safety Kevin Byard to the mix, along with Craig Woodson and a deep corner group including Marcus Jones and Carlton Davis.
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