Cornerback Christian Gonzalez is at Patriots training camp as he continues to talk to the team about a contract extension and Saturday brought some idea of what those conversations have looked like this offseason.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft said that the team has offered Gonzalez a deal that would set records for both NFL cornerbacks and members of the Patriots organization.
“We love Christian Gonzalez. We love him as a player, as a person, and that’s why we’ve made an offer to him to make him the highest-paid player to ever play that position in the NFL,” Kraft said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. “And coincidentally, it is the highest contract in Patriots franchise history. So we’re glad we drafted him, he’s developed here, and we hope he’ll be with us for a long time.”
Rams cornerback Trent McDuffie set the bar at the position when he signed a four-year, $124 million deal this offseason.
A recent report indicated that Gonzalez’s negotiations have been complicated by the Seahawks’ ongoing talks with Devon Witherspoon. The cornerbacks share an agent and Witherspoon, who is also shooting for the top of the market for corners, is reportedly closer to an agreement that could open the door for the Patriots and Gonzalez reaching the finish line.
