The Patriots are just a few days away from welcoming the Raiders to Gillette Stadium for their season opener of the 2025 NFL season, and they're already dealing with some major injury news that is far from what they need ahead of a very telling year.
For the most part, they haven't had the unfortunate luck of several starters suffering injuries at some point during training camp or the preseason, unlike other teams around the league. But that doesn't mean they escaped the injury bug totally, as several players' seasons were already ended due to major injuries suffered during the summer.
That is not expected to be the issue with cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who hasn't practiced for the Patriots since July 28 and has been the talk of the town in the days leading up to their Week 1 matchup.
He is yet to practice this week, and as of Wednesday, he is not set to return. Mike Vrabel provided the update to reporters ahead of practice, but wouldn't completely rule Gonzalez out for the game.
Mike Vrabel indicated that Christian Gonzalez wouldn’t practice today. He stopped short of ruling him out for Sunday. pic.twitter.com/zQlVZl0166
— Karen Guregian (@kguregian) September 3, 2025
Christian Gonzalez's status for the Patriots Week 1 game isn't looking too promising
While it could be considered a win that Vrabel said everything but Gonzalez has been ruled out of their first game of the year, it's not great that the cornerback will still not be at practice on Wednesday when he hasn't been present for over a month.
That seems to be a huge indicator of what his status will inevitably be come Sunday, meaning the rest of the secondary will have a big task ahead of them to make up for in his absence. It will put a lot of pressure on Carlton Davis, whom the Patriots signed in free agency, and the young players down the depth chart, like Alex Austin and DJ James.
Considering Davis was considered among the most desirable free agents at his position, there is not a lot of concern regarding his performance against a team like the Raiders. He has long been deemed the starter alongside Gonzalez, so the bigger focus will be on Austin and James, maybe even Marcus Jones.
Will they be able to hold down the other side without the Gonzalez security blanket?
The Raiders might not have an explosive option like Davante Adams anymore, but they just signed Amari Cooper and still roster Jakobi Meyers, not to mention one of the best tight end rooms in the entire NFL with Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer, so it will be a tall task.
Hopefully, based on how the group impressed throughout camp, they will continue that streak when the game actually matters. It's probably better for Gonzalez to miss the first game if he's not 100% yet, and that could become more than one game, so the other cornerbacks must manage to keep the defense in the game as long as he's sidelined.