New England Patriots
“I don’t know,” Gonzalez said when asked about the possibility of getting the deal done by Wednesday.
Christian Gonzalez returned to practice on Monday. AP Photo/Charles Krupa
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The Patriots have a football game to play in Seattle next Wednesday, and cornerback Christian Gonzalez isn’t certain he’ll have a new contract by then.
“I’m not sure,” Gonzalez told Boston 25’s Lauren Walsh. “I don’t know.”
Coach Mike Vrabel was asked about the situation on Thursday. There were no new details to report, he said.
The Patriots have Gonzalez under contract for this season, and the team has an option it could exercise for next season. Both sides talked about the possibility of a contract extension throughout training camp, but no deal has been finalized.
Both team owner Robert Kraft and executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf have gone on the record saying New England has put an offer out that would make Gonzalez the highest-paid cornerback in football.
Last week, Gonzalez said that there are “certain things” that he wants in his contract and that the Patriots front office is aware what they are. He declined to get into specifics. He also declined to answer whether or not he would be willing to play this season if both sides are unable to reach a deal.
On Thursday, Vrabel told reporters that he expects Gonzalez to play against the Seahawks. Next Wednesday’s game is a rematch of Super Bowl LX, which Seattle won handily in Santa Clara. The Patriots will open the season on Seattle’s home turf at Lumen Field in a nationally televised contest.
Here’s my 1-on-1 conversation with Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez.
I asked if he’ll play Week 1. He said he’s focused on today.
Last question was if he thinks the deal will get done before Wednesday.
“I’m not sure. I don’t know.”#Patriots #NEPats @boston25 pic.twitter.com/2fnft0sun7
— Lauren Walsh (@lauwalsh10) September 3, 2026
“As I said a couple of days ago, as the head coach, I expect every player that is healthy and under contract to practice and to play,” Vrabel said. “Again, that may change based on my conversations with different players and the plan that they have each and every day when you talk about practice or what the plan may be for the football game. So that goes with this situation and anybody else who would fall underneath that, that is what our expectation is.”
Vrabel said the team will continue to have discussions about Gonzalez’s contract. He was asked if the team had a plan if Gonzalez decided not to play.
“We have to prepare for everything to potentially happen, whether that is players’ availability through multiple different reasons,” Vrabel said. “So, we will have to be ready for a lot of things, and as we work here into Week 1 and the craziness of the National Football League [NFL] and the journey that we are about to go on.”
Gonzalez told MassLive’s Karen Guregian that he was “still frustrated” about the situation.
Gonzalez was at practice on Thursday. He practiced with the team for most of the preseason, but was noticeably absent for joint practice against Indianapolis, both joint practices against the Eagles, and all three preseason games.
Vrabel said Gonzalez has looked to improve with every chance that he has gotten and added that he enjoys coaching Gonzalez.
However, the situation looms over the team as the Patriots prepare to open the season.
“I think we want to try to be as ready and prepared for the football game as we possibly can,” Vrabel said. “I think distractions come in a lot of different ways, and it is how we handle them, how we respond to them. So again, I love coaching Christian [Gonzalez]. He is a valuable member of this football team, and we will continue to have discussions, but I do not have anything else to add about the contract.”
Gonzalez has played in 30 of the Patriots’ last 34 regular-season games and earned his first Pro Bowl selection last season. He was available for all four playoff games, including the Super Bowl.
The last time the Patriots were without Gonzalez for an extended period of time was during his rookie season in 2023, when he was limited to four games due to a torn labrum. The team posted identical 4-13 records that year and the following year when Gonzalez played 16 of the 17 possible games.
Gonzalez was a second-team All-Pro selection in 2024. Last year, he made the Pro Bowl, but was left off the All-Pro team.
Gonzalez’s trainer, Christian “Flight” White, told 98.5 the Sports Hub last week that he thinks the Patriots are “getting close” to reaching an agreement.
Close, however, does not mean a deal is done, and the Patriots are set to kick the season off in Seattle next week in Seattle either way.
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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