The New England Patriots’ task against the unbeaten Buffalo Bills this week has gotten significantly tougher. Christian Gonzalez, the team’s top cornerback and best overall player this season, has officially been ruled out of the contest due to a shoulder injury sustained last week.
Gonzalez’s deactivation does not come as a surprise after he missed the entire week of practice. It nonetheless forces the Patriots to adapt and replace one of the best defenders in the NFL.
How are they going to do it?
According to head coach Mike Vrabel, by relying on a mix of players.
“I think Charles [Woods] will get some snaps in there,” Vrabel said during a press conference at Gillette Stadium on Friday. “We’ll mix around some guys. Marcus [Jones] will play outside, inside a little bit. I think Karon [Prunty]’s done a really nice job on special teams and so if he’s asked to play on defense, he’ll be ready to go.”
Another member of the Patriots’ cornerback group, rookie Channing Canada, is questionable for the game with a hamstring injury.
As for Gonzalez, his presence typically allows the Patriots to be aggressive with their coverage and pressure calls. The 2023 first-round draft pick, who became the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history last month, has proven himself capable of taking on opposing wide receivers in 1-on-1 coverage while also performing at a high level as a zone defender.
The Patriots not having him available against one of the top offenses in the league and MVP-caliber quarterback Josh Allen naturally changes their plans.
“There might be specific things if he’s not out there that maybe we do or don’t do,” explained defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr earlier this week. “You always have a plan in your mind for anybody. When we meet as a staff, every week — even Week 1 and we’re fully healthy — it’s like, ‘Okay, what if so and so goes down? What are we thinking here? How are we going to adjust that? Who are we going to move here?’ We talk about that every week, and you try to stay within the game plan you have in the week.”
With Gonzalez out, New England’s game plan against Allen and company might look different than it otherwise would have. What definitely will be different is the defense’s overall quality with him not on the field, especially considering that stalwart defensive tackle Christian Barmore is also out.
Even so, the team won’t take a defeatist attitude into Buffalo and has confidence in its abilities to pull off an upset win.
“Gonzo’s a playmaker for sure, so we know we’re going to miss him out there. But we preach all the time, ‘next man up,’” said Carlton Davis. “Charles Woods has been playing well every time he had to step in for one of us. We’re going to trust him and go up to this game trying to win.”
