FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots will open the season against the Seattle Seahawks in one week.
But there's some uncertainty surrounding whether one of their star players will take the field as his ongoing contract negotiations remain unresolved.
Christian Gonzalez has been with the team throughout the summer, fully participating in training camp practices outside of the time he missed due to an injury. But the cornerback has yet to say whether or not he is prepared to play in the game against Seattle without a new deal.
So, does Mike Vrabel expect him to play?
"As I said a couple of days ago, as the head coach, I expect every player that is healthy and under contract to practice and to play," the head coach told reporters on Thursday.
"Again, that may change based on my conversations with different players and the plan that they have each and every day when you talk about practice or what the plan may be for the football game. So that goes with this situation and anybody else who would fall underneath that, that is what our expectation is."
But, if the case just so happens that Gonzalez isn't out there, Vrabel admitted the team will have to come up with a plan.
"We have to prepare for everything to potentially happen, whether that is players' availability through multiple different reasons," he added. "So, we will have to be ready for a lot of things, and as we work here into Week 1 and the craziness of the National Football League [NFL] and the journey that we are about to go on."
Gonzalez's trainer recently went on the radio, speaking publicly about the contract, shutting down some rumors, while also confirming others. Specifically, he said that he had "nothing new to report contractually."
"I am trying to get him ready for the football game, trying to get him ready on the first-and-second-down stuff that we are doing today, and how he can help us win," Vrabel said.
He also addressed whether this can serve as a distraction for the team as well as potentially hurting his relationship with the organization.
"I think we want to try to be as ready and prepared for the football game as we possibly can. I think distractions come in a lot of different ways, and it is how we handle them, how we respond to them," he added. "So again, I love coaching Christian [Gonzalez]. He is a valuable member of this football team, and we will continue to have discussions, but I do not have anything else to add about the contract."
But despite all this, Vrabel remains very complimentary of the star cornerback.
"He has put a lot of great work in - and the competitiveness and practices. He is never really stressed. He is a very comfortable, and I do not mean that by lazy, it is just not, he is not stressed," Vrabel explained. "And then when he bursts, he bursts, and when he has a chance to go for an interception, he does. When he has a chance to stab, he makes great decisions. He plays square and he is athletic and fast. So, he is not a player that has been sitting around here just waiting.
"This is a player that every chance that he has looked to improve, challenge two-minute situations, normal down and distances, third down. I have seen a very competitive player."
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Will Christian Gonzalez play in Week 1? Mike Vrabel weighs in
