The New England Patriots seem like they’re heading in the right direction after Sunday’s win over the Miami Dolphins, and a big reason is the return of cornerback Christian Gonzalez. The Patriots’ top cornerback is working his way back from a left hamstring injury and head coach Mike Vrabel sounded optimistic that he would be ready to go as the Patriots host the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3.
But just before fans could expect to see Gonzalez lineup across from Carlton Davis III and provide the New England defense with a boost, Gonzalez sang a different tune that could leave everyone disappointed.
Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez Doesn’t Sound Confident About Week 3 Return
Gonzalez spoke about his injury during an appearance on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football on Tuesday and leaned more on the process to return. While he’s missed the first two games, he didn’t sound confident about coming back on Sunday, admitting he’s trying to build toward his eventual return.
“We just going day-by-day with taking it [one] step at a time,” Gonzalez said via Brian Hines of Pat Pulpit. “Just being in the building, sitting in the meetings doing what I can. So it’s been stressful but it’s all for a reason. So going [one] day at a time.”
If you want to be optimistic, maybe Gonzalez is playing coy to give the Patriots a strategic advantage. Then again, taking it slowly could be the best approach.
Gonzalez was injured during an 11-on-11 drill during training camp and has yet to return to the Patriots lineup. It’s the latest in what has been an injury-riddled career for the third-year corner as he tore his pectoral muscle after four games.
When healthy, Gonzalez has the look of a top cornerback. He logged 59 total tackles, 11 pass breakups, and two interceptions last season and had an overall grade of 76.0 and 78.2 grades in coverage. With D.K. Metcalf coming to town, Vrabel’s comments that said there was “a chance” of Gonzalez’s returning could be wishful thinking or an attempt to push Gonzalez to return. But we may not know the truth until they take the practice field this week.
Vrabel seems to believe that Gonzalez could be ready to go, but it will be interesting to see if the cornerback’s cautious approach wins out over the course of the week.