Early in the week leading up to the Patriots' preseason finale against the Browns, Mike Vrabel made it clear that starters wouldn't play; instead, it would be the players still vying for a spot on the 2026 roster.
While it was a decision that made a lot of sense, considering the depth issues that the team has at this stage of the offseason, and it was hard to ignore the number of injuries piling up across the league, it was also disappointing that fans wouldn't get to watch some of the Patriots' biggest stars until Week 1.
That includes Christian Gonzalez, who returned to practice late last week and is now in the middle of a very public contract negotiation for his much-deserved extension.
NFL insiders have given conflicting reports about the status of the negotiations, with some suggesting we're just days away from hearing a deal has been agreed to, with others, like Adam Schefter, claiming they're still far apart on a salary despite Robert Kraft stating they offered Gonzalez a number that would make him the highest-paid cornerback in the league.
Whether that's true is difficult to say with any certainty one way or another, but it has prompted some to wonder if there's a trade in Gonzalez's future if they can't agree on a contract.
Fortunately for the cornerback, what we saw from the backups against the Browns on Thursday night makes it clear the Patriots need him a lot more than they're acting right now, and that might drive up his price tag even more.
Christian Gonzalez's value increased to new heights without him even taking a snap for the Patriots this preseason
With all the starters sidelined for the preseason finale, it was up to the bubble players to impress the coaching staff enough to secure a spot on this year's roster.
They had ample time to do that in this game, and it should have been a bit easier, since the Browns also didn't suit up their starters. But it was far from a cakewalk and was borderline a disaster all night long.
Beyond the number of missed tackles by the defense as a whole, the secondary stood out for all the wrong reasons, as they allowed two of the three touchdowns scored in the first half. They were also responsible for the Browns' first score of the third quarter after a missed tackle by Kobee Minor, furthering an embarrassing loss to end the summer.
It's a wake-up call for the Patriots' coaching staff, seeing that beyond their main starters of Gonzalez, Carlton Davis and even Marcus Jones, they're not looking good in the cornerback room, and that could become a serious problem throughout the season.
That would presumably prove Gonzalez to be that much more vital to their defensive success, particularly in the secondary, which should have already been apparent based on his performance against the Seahawks in the Super Bowl, with how he shut down the now-reigning Offensive Player of the Year in Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
He's proven his value beyond any doubt, and now seeing that their cornerbacks are a lost cause if he's not on the field should spark some serious urgency from the front office to get a deal done sooner rather than later. That should've already been how they handled this situation, but clearly, they haven't.
Starting the regular season with this still lingering would be a bad look and a total distraction, not to mention that Gonzalez could decide to hold out if he really wanted to. That would be the ultimate disaster that the Patriots don't need.
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