New England Patriots - NESN.com
The New England Patriots gave fans a scare by placing Christian Gonzalez on Thursday’s injury report.
Gonzalez was listed as a limited participant in Thursday’s practice with a hamstring injury that sidelined him for the first three games of the season. However, the designation doesn’t appear to indicate a significant setback that could jeopardize the star cornerback’s status for Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints.
Patriots cornerbacks coach Justin Hamilton said Thursday, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss, that the team planned for Gonzalez to work away from the team during individual and special teams drills.
“It’s kind of a warm-up, the early portion of practice, just to do more,” Hamilton said. “Because some of the stuff is special teams or things where it’s like jog-through walk-through, so it’s for him to be able to get to the pace he can go at to be able to go out there when we are in the speed periods of practice.”
Gonzalez made his 2025 season debut two months after injuring his hamstring during training camp on July 28. The 23-year-old has nine tackles in two Patriots victories.
Without Gonzalez, Geno Smith and Tua Tagovailoa shredded New England’s secondaries for over 300 passing yards each. The Patriots allowed 442 combined passing yards in wins over the Carolina Panthers and Buffalo Bills.
The Saints have averaged an NFC-low 5.6 yards per pass attempt this season, but Gonzalez could make Week 6’s matchup much harder for quarterback Spencer Rattler by locking down star wide receiver Chris Olave.
Gonzalez isn’t the only defender the Patriots must monitor before Sunday. Jaylinn Hawkins (hamstring), Keion White (elbow) and Anfernee Jennings (ankle) missed Thursday’s practice, and Milton Williams (ankle) was a limited participant for the second straight day.
