Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez has been seeking a new contract throughout the offseason.
He did not participate in portions of New England’s voluntary offseason program, though he did attend mandatory minicamp while not participating much on the field.
New England head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters on Friday that Gonzalez officially reported for training camp.
“He is here. I expect him to participate,” Vrabel said. “So, those contract negotiations are ongoing between the club and his agents. And I’m excited about having Christian back here with us and the impact he can make on our football team. Really enjoy the person, enjoy the player, and that’s what I’m looking forward to.”
There was reporting earlier this week that part of the hold up for Gonzalez’s new deal is the ongoing negotiations between the Seahawks and cornerback Devon Witherspoon — with whom Gonzalez shares an agent. Vrabel told reporters, however, that it does not have much of an effect.
“I don’t think they have anything to do with one another,” Vrabel said. “We’re not negotiating with the Seahawks, we’re negotiating with Christian’s representatives. I don’t think that there’s anything different than just our communication with him.”
Gonzalez is slated to make $2.259 million in base salary in 2026.
Vrabel said he’s expecting Gonzalez to do more work on the field during camp than he did during the offseason program.
“We’re getting ready to prepare to win,” Vrabel said.” And that’s what this is going to take through training camp. We talked about this last year — earning a role, building a team, and preparing to win. And players have an opportunity to earn a role. Coaches are going to be there to help them. We all have to build a team and I have to do my best to prepare us to win by our situations and the way we practice throughout training camp.”
