"New England Patriots starting cornerback Christian Gonzalez won't play in Sunday's season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders due to a hamstring injury, head coach Mike Vrabel said Friday. Gonzalez, who was a second-team All-Pro in 2024, sustained the injury in practice on July 28 while covering wide receiver Stefon Diggs on a crossing route. He pulled up, holding the back of his left leg, and hasn't practiced since."
"The Patriots entered 2025 with high hopes for a 1-2 cornerback combination of Gonzalez and veteran Carlton Davis III, whom they signed to a three-year, $54 million contract that includes $34.5 million in guarantees in March. Vrabel had joked that the Patriots' plan was to play "cat coverage" with Gonzalez and Davis -- "You got that cat, I got this cat, and we can go to work.""
"Now Vrabel said they could be turning to Alex Austin, who has had to claw his way to this point since entering the NFL as a seventh-round draft choice of the Buffalo Bills in 2023 out of Oregon State. The 6-foot-1, 191-pound Austin, who was waived by the Bills at the end of 2023 training camp and then played in three games for the Texans, initially joined the Patriots in November of '23."
Christian Gonzalez, a 2024 second-team All-Pro and 2023 first-round pick out of Oregon, suffered a hamstring injury in practice on July 28 while covering Stefon Diggs and has not practiced since. Head coach Mike Vrabel said Gonzalez will miss Sunday's season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders. The team had envisioned a starting cornerback pairing of Gonzalez and veteran Carlton Davis III after signing Davis to a three-year, $54 million contract with $34.5 million guaranteed. Vrabel said Alex Austin could see increased playing time; Austin entered the NFL as a seventh-round pick in 2023, was waived by Buffalo, played three games for Houston, joined New England in November 2023, and has appeared in 17 games with four starts for the Patriots. Other options include Marcus Jones and 2024 sixth-round pick D.J. James.
Read at ESPN.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]