New England Patriots
“It’s hard to imagine that the two sides would be able to make up the difference to get a deal done by opening night.”
The New England Patriots will open their 2026 season in less than 48 hours with a Super Bowl LX rematch against the Seattle Seahawks.
But, it remains to be seen if star cornerback Christian Gonzalez will be on the field and tasked with shutting down Seattle wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba — due to the Patriots not handing Gonzalez a hefty new contract.
Negotiations between the Patriots and Gonzalez on a deal that would obstensibly make him the highest-paid corner in the NFL have been the top storyline hovering over New England since the summer.
But, even after Seattle corner Devon Witherspoon seemingly reset the market and established a new benchmark for star corners to hit when he signed a four-year, $132 million extension last month, there’s reportedly been little progress between Gonzalez’s camp and the Patriots on crossing the finish line on a record-setting deal.
ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter shared a similar sentiment on Monday when asked for an update on Gonzalez’s contract talks during his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“These things always can change. But as of right now, talks are nowhere,” Schefter said. “Again, there always can be a last second push and there always can be something that changes. We’ll see how the two sides address it as the season’s underway.
“But I think, as of right now, it’s hard to imagine that the two sides would be able to make up the difference to get a deal done by opening night. Again, we’ve seen crazy things happen, and I’m sure there could be another push to try to see if they could salvage it and get it done. But right now, as of yesterday, I was told it was not close.”
Schefter’s comments fall in line with Gonzalez’s own remarks over the weekend. The 24-year-old corner responded with, “I don’t know,” when asked if he feels any progress has been made on a new contract.
Gonzalez — whose strong play played a key role in New England’s run to Super Bowl LX — was also asked Saturday about whether or not he might miss the Patriots’ season opener against Seattle amid this contract impasse.
“I’m focused on today right now,” Gonzalez said when asked about his availability in Seattle.
As far as the potential for a trade request?
“I’m here right now,” Gonzalez said. “I’m here. Like I said, I’m worried about this practice. Focused on this practice. I’ll always be where my feet are and do what I gotta do.”
Despite Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s claim that the New England made Gonzalez an offer in the summer that would make him the “highest-paid player to ever play that position in the NFL,” Schefter reported Monday that New England isn’t using Witherspoon’s record-setting deal as the standard for its own negotiations.
“I’ve never got the sense that they’ve gotten close here all along. And I’m going to guess usually when that’s the case, it starts with money,” Schefter reported. “And I think Gonzalez wanted to be at or above where Witherspoon was. The Patriots have never been there, have not gotten close to there. So I guess if you can’t agree on the money, the years become secondary, because money usually is the sticking point on all these things, and it certainly seems like for whatever reason, these two sides have not gotten close.
“And I remember when Witherspoon was getting done, it was a Saturday morning on the phone with various people. At that time, Gonzalez wasn’t close. Nothing since then has changed that. And as of [Sunday], when I had checked in on it, I was told it wasn’t close. So, again, could something happen by [Tuesday] night? Sure, they can have some conversation tomorrow, Wednesday, that changes things. It didn’t sound like that was going to be the case.”
Time is running out for the Patriots to resolve this ongoing stalemate with their top defensive player, leaving the door open for more drastic measures if Gonzalez begins the new year without that sought-after extension in place.
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