Pats Pulpit
Christian Gonzalez has finally returned to practice. Seven weeks after hurting his hamstring, the young cornerback made his comeback on Wednesday.
Unsurprisingly, his New England Patriots teammates were quite happy to see him back in action.
“It’s very exciting,” said safety Jaylinn Hawkins. “We all know Gonzo is shutdown, a playmaker. He’s another playmaker on the team. It’s hella exciting. I know he’s really excited to be back. Nobody wants to miss games or be hurt or be injured. I’m excited. My dawg’s back. We’re going to go out there and rock out.”
One of the best cornerbacks in football and a second-team All-Pro selection in 2024, Gonzalez entered his third training camp as New England’s undisputed No. 1 cornerback and arguably the best player overall on the roster. However, he had to exit the team’s first full-pads practice of the summer in late July after getting banged up during an 11-on-11 drill.
Gonzalez suffered his non-contact injury while matched up with wide receiver Stefon Diggs. Before Wednesday’s practice, Diggs also spoke about the 23-year-old making his return.
“Obviously, Zo is one of our stars, especially from that cornerback position,” he said. “I feel like he plays a key role on our defense, and he’s definitely one of the captains on this team. … From a personal view, we’d be super excited to have him back. Hell of a player.”
During Gonzalez’s absence, the Patriots primarily turned to a mix of Alex Austin and Marcus Jones to help fill the starter role opposite Carlton Davis. The duo had its ups and downs during the first two games of the season, contributing to New England’s pass defense being among the worst-ranked in football right now.
Getting Gonzalez back should help with that, as Davis pointed out.
“It’s going to help our team and our defense, for sure,” he said. “It could make my job easier because we’re going to be getting off the field more and celebrate more when he makes plays. It should be fun. I’m excited for it.”
“One side of the field can be shut down at any moment,” added Hawkins. “He makes plays. Very, very sticky coverage. A natural — freak athlete, can cover, good technique, good ball skills.”
Whether or not Gonzalez will return to the game day roster this week against the Pittsburgh Steelers will be seen, but the arrow is at least pointing up again.
