Pats Pulpit
Two months ago to the day, cornerback Christian Gonzalez hobbled off the New England Patriots’ practice field with a hamstring injury.
After then being sidelined the first three weeks of the year due to the issue, Gonzalez made his regular season debut against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
“It was great to get out there,” he said post game. “Like I talked about earlier in the week, all I do and want to do is play football, so it was fun to finally get out there in a home game. The crowd was rocking and being out there with the guys was a lot of fun.”
In his return, Gonzalez logged 49 snaps and appeared to have no restrictions. While there was some expected rust after being off the football field for nearly seven weeks in rehab and only having practiced in a limited capacity so far, he kept his mindset simple going into the game.
“Anything can be a little challenging when not doing it for a long time,” Gonzalez said. “But at the end of the day I’ve done this since I was 5 years old. So my mindset going into the game today was not to really think of how long it’s been like that. Just, it’s another football game. Go out there and be my 5-year-old self. Go out there and have fun. Have that joy of just being back on the field.”
On the field, Gonzalez started in his expected spot opposite of free-agent addition Carlton Davis. The two largely appeared to stick to sides in coverage throughout the day, helping limit the Panthers’ passing attack to just 208 total yards in a 42-13 blowout victory.
Now with the first game under his belt, the 23-year-old hopes to settle in more each week.
“It’s tough to not play for a long time and then go out there,” Gonzalez said. “It was a pretty hot Foxborough day, but it was great football weather. It’s little challenges, getting your legs under you, just getting back in rhythm. Corner[back] is all about rhythm, you just have to get in your groove. It is what it is and I’m just taking it day-by-day.”
