“I’m focused on today right now.”
Still in the midst of a contract dispute, New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez hasn’t given many absolute statements. That six-word answer to a direct question on whether he was prepared to sit out Wednesday’s season opener against Seattle without a resolution only continued the trend.
All Patriots fans can really do is speculate as the clock ticks toward a breaking point. But there were at least some silver linings to pull from Saturday’s pre-practice press conferences.
Head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters that he’s not directly involved in the negotiating process, but he does play a role in advocating for the players “that we really want to build around and have.” Vrabel added: “I’ve done that with Gonzo and everybody knows that.”
Gonzalez clearly has his coach in his corner. He’s also continued to do his part, as he was out on the field for one of the team’s final practices before Monday night’s flight to Seattle.
Why Christian Gonzalez has every reason to stay coy about playing in the season opener
The frustrating part for fans is that Gonzalez has the power to squash this story by stating that he’s focused on the Seahawks and is prepared to play regardless of where his contract negotiations stand on Sept. 9.
But no one should be knocking Gonzalez for leveraging the one bargaining chip in his bag right now.
New England could have protected itself by adding a serviceable veteran cornerback behind Gonzalez and Carlton Davis, but that didn’t happen this offseason. The Patriots’ depth at the position consists of former undrafted players in Charles Woods and rookie Channing Canada, and recent fifth-round draft pick Karon Prunty.
The more Gonzalez dangles the possibility of him skipping the season opener, the more motivated the Patriots’ front office should be to find common ground on the finer details of his contract extension.
How much money could Christian Gonzalez lose by sitting out games?
Per the current CBA, Gonzalez could be fined up to 1/17th of his base salary for each game missed. That means, with Gonzalez set to earn about $2.8 million in Year 4 of his rookie contract, he would be subject to an irrevocable fine of roughly $164,705 for each game missed.
If Gonzalez actually holds out, he could take it as far as Week 10 of the regular season. If the player doesn’t report by then, he would be deemed ineligible for the remainder of the league year.
Gonzalez can realistically flirt with losing a few game checks. Forfeiting over $1.5 million and returning in Week 10 would be a major statement.
The obvious hope is that it’s nothing more than posturing. We'll get our answer soon as New England is scheduled to fly to Seattle on Monday night with or without its star corner.
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