With the negotiations ongoing with Christian Gonzalez, not much has been said throughout the offseason when it comes to the state of things, nor the young defensive back’s future.
The veteran, who had his fifth-year option picked up during the offseason, has also said little. He’s been present throughout the workouts, although he was limited at various points during the spring.
Still, reports of him purchasing a home in the area were promising, leading many to believe things have been moving in a positive direction.
According to New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, it appears that the club certainly has plenty of faith in terms of the potential offer they’ve made him.
Kraft and his wife, Dana, spoke to reporters on Saturday about their Pawtriots program, which helps find homes for dogs with the players each taking part in the program. But Kraft revealed that the team is hoping that Gonzalez makes New England home for the foreseeable future, and the deal they’ve offered him seems to certainly represent that.
“We love Christian Gonzalez. We love him as a player, as a person,” said Kraft. “That’s why we’ve made an offer to him that makes him the highest-paid player ever to play that position in the NFL. And coincidentally, it’s the highest contract in the Patriots franchise history.”
“So we’re glad we drafted him, and he’s developed here, and we hope he will be with us for a long time.”
Vrabel was asked about his star cornerback on Friday, with many wondering if a potential holdout might be coming. Instead, Vrabel revealed that Gonzalez was not only present at Gillette Stadium for the start of training camp, but he was also expected to be a full participant in team activities.
“I would expect him to be here. He is here, and I would expect him to participate,” said Vrabel. “Really enjoy the person, enjoy the player. And that’s what I’m looking forward to.”
On Saturday, that’s essentially what happened. Gonzalez was out there throughout the session, including going up against newcomer A.J. Brown as Drake Maye tried to get the competitive juices flowing early, but threw incomplete to the veteran wideout as things started.
Maye spoke to the media after practice and had praise for Gonzalez, who he said has been a professional and has been someone he’s looked up to since he’s been here.
“I think that shows his main focus, and that’s football. He’s the best corner in the league in my opinion,” said Maye. “He’s not the big rah-rah guy. He does it his own way, but he does it at the highest level. So I’m glad to be his teammate. [We’re] around the same age, and I tell Will [Campbell] that he’s my rook because he’s – I was a first-round pick, and Will’s the next.”
“But, Gonzo, someone I look up to, even at the same age, I look up to how he does things, how he handles himself, and just his swagger he has in his own way. I think it’s great to see him out here playing around. And I think you saw it in the locker room before. Everybody was wondering, ‘What’s Gonzo gonna do?’, and he’s coming out here and, first play, he’s guarding AJ and man coverage. So that’s the Patriots.”
Kraft’s comments certainly indicate that things are headed in the right direction, and Gonzalez seemed upbeat both during the session and as the two spoke out and shook hands on the field ahead of practice.
With rookie Gabe Jacas finally signing his rookie deal, the hope now is that Gonzalez’s signing won’t be too far behind.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
