With only six days to go until the 2025 regular season opener, the New England Patriots’ best player remains a non-participant in practice. Cornerback Christian Gonzalez was unavailable yet again during Monday’s session on the fields behind Gillette Stadium.
Gonzalez, 23, has been missing from action since the Patriots’ fifth practice of training camp on July 28. The second-team All-Pro hurt his left hamstring in an 11-on-11 drill early during the session, gingerly walking off the field after covering
wide receiver Stefon Diggs on a crossing pattern.
Despite some initial optimism that Gonzalez’s injury would be a short-term affair and his Week 1 availability not in danger, his timeline for the season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders remains unclear. On Monday, the third-year defender was the only player not spotted during the brief media window at the start of practice.
“I wouldn’t anticipate him out here today,” head coach Mike Vrabel announced before practice. “Hopefully that improves, but he’s working hard and trying to improve, and he wants to be out there. I think what’s good for us and for Christian and the team is to try not to be frustrated. Obviously, those things happen, and it’s how we respond to them. It’s how hard we work to get back, the communication, all the things that he’s doing. So, just continue to work hard to get back and try to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to help him.”
Vrabel neither confirmed nor denied whether Gonzalez had suffered a setback in his recovery from the hamstring ailment. He did, however, allude to the recovery not going as the team had initially hoped.
“It just hasn’t gone…,” Vrabel said before stopping himself. “Again, he’s working hard. We can say one injury is going to be three to four weeks, one is going to be one to two. Everybody heals differently. So, just making sure that when the players are back that they can do their job with confidence, that they can protect themselves on the field, and that they can’t make it any worse.”
The Patriots’ season opener against the Raiders is set for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 7. The two teams will release their first injury reports of the week on Wednesday afternoon.
