Vrabel: ‘Nothing new to report’ with CB Gonzalez

Gonzalez did not practice at any point this week after popping up on the injury report Wednesday; his status seems to be in doubt for Week 5 at this point as well. The Patriots also ruled out DT Christian Barmore. They’ll be without their best coverage player against the Bills, elevating the matchup for D.J. Moore.

Back-to-back missed practices throw Gonzalez’s Week 4 status in real jeopardy. There are few players who mean as much to their defense as Gonzalez does, and if he is out against the Bills it will be open season for D.J. Moore and Khalil Shakir in what oddsmakers are predicting to be a shootout. Patriots DT Christian Barmore (shoulder) remained sidelined as well.

This is one to watch for fantasy purposes. The Patriots are tasked with keeping the Bills’ passing offense in check this week. Doing so without their top coverage defender will be difficult. This is a new injury for Gonzalez. Patriots DT Christian Barmore (shoulder) was also sidelined on Wednesday.

It’s $102 million guaranteed for the 24-year-old Gonzalez, who is entering his fourth season after being drafted 17th overall in 2023. Gonzalez went without an interception during the regular season last year, but he was a Pro Bowler anyway and he did come up with a huge pick in the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship versus the Broncos. The Patriots had him under control for two more years after exercising his fifth-year option in April.

Gonzalez is apparently “non-committal” about playing in Week 1 against the Seahawks. The Patriots, meanwhile, are reportedly prepared to make Gonzalez the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback by surpassing the $33 million-per-year mark set by Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon. The problem is that the two sides have “fundamental” disagreements over the deal’s length and structure. Kickoff is five days away. Stay tuned.

Gonzalez employs the same agent as Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon, who recently reset the positional market at $33 million per year. According to Schefter, the Patriots have never come close to that number. The Patriots exercised Gonzalez’s fifth-year option in April, so Gonzalez has two seasons remaining on his contract. Schefter believes that if the two sides fail to agree on a new deal early in the year, it “opens up a whole range of options” next offseason, like a potential trade.

Gonzalez and the Pats have continued negotiations on a top-of-the-market extension for the 24-year-old cornerback, but are not yet close to an agreement. Fellow corner Devon Witherspoon signed his deal earlier in August but Gonzalez has still yet to sign a similar or slightly larger deal. He said, “it’s frustrating, but I’m focused on the season.” A deal can still come before the Patriots play in Week 1 but it’s clear Gonzalez is disappointed in negotiations despite not holding out.

Gonzalez missed practice on Tuesday, didn’t play in the Patriots’ preseason game on Thursday and remains off the field for Saturday’s practice. Still awaiting a contract extension from the Patriots, Gonzalez’ absence is related to an injury he suffered in practice last week, according to Patriots HC Mike Vrabel. While Gonzalez won’t practice, Vrabel said he’ll get treatment and work on conditioning, which implies the injury isn’t serious.

“These are my guys,” Gonzalez said. “It’s hard to sit and just watch. I like to be out on the field. This is what I love to do. At the end of the day, I’ve got to get better for myself and for the team. I’m focused on being here at training camp right now, taking it day-by-day, and see where it goes.” Gonzalez has (per Robert Kraft) been offered a top of the market amount for a cornerback. We’ll see where this goes, but it’s great news for the Pats that Gonzalez isn’t holding in.

The number to beat is $31 million. That’s the highest average annual value currently at the cornerback position and it comes from Rams CB Trent McDuffie’s four-year, $124 million extension that included $100 million guaranteed. Gonzalez, who was named to the Pro Bowl for the first time last year, is aiming for a contract in that range. He reported to mandatory minicamp earlier this offseason, but didn’t participate in drills. Gonzalez was spotted at Patriots training camp on Saturday. While he doesn’t officially have a new contract quite yet, negotiations appear to be coming to an end. Kraft stated that the team hopes to have Gonzalez, who turned 24 last month, for a long time.