With the NFL season opener approaching fast, the New England Patriots and their best defender, cornerback Christian Gonzalez, have yet to reach common ground in their contract negotiations. In fact, it seems that the two sides remain significantly apart.
Appearing on ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show on Monday, NFL insider Adam Schefter painted a bleak picture.
“These things always can change. But as of right now, talks are nowhere,” he said.
“There always can be a last-second push and there always can be something that changes,” Schefter continued. “We’ll see how the two sides address it once 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. 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. We’ll see if they can figure out anything by the start of the game. It didn’t sound like that was going to be the case.”
The Patriots’ first-round draft pick in 2023, Gonzalez has been one of the NFL’s top cornerbacks since entering the league. As a result, the 24-year-old is looking to become the league’s highest-paid player in the league at his position — something the organization, by its own admission, is willing to support.
At the moment, that title belongs to Devon Witherspoon. A fellow 2023 draft pick, Witherspoon signed a four-year, $132 million extension with the Seattle Seahawks earlier this offseason. In terms of average annual value ($33M) and total guarantees ($101M), no cornerback has ever been above the three-time Pro Bowler.
Gonzalez, according to Schefter, is looking to at least match Witherspoon. However, the Patriots — despite statements to the contrary by both team owner Robert Kraft and de facto general manager Eliot Wolf — apparently “have never been there” and “have not gotten close to there.”
Time will tell how accurate that information is, and whether or not the Patriots will reach a common ground after all. There is at least one NFL insider, though, who thinks so: Benjamin Allbright of KOA Colorado posted on Sunday that a “deal eventually will get done.”
