In a perfect world, the Patriots would have gotten Christian Gonzalez under contract at the start of the 2026 offseason, and he would have become the highest-paid cornerback in the league, maybe even in NFL history, and we could focus on knowing the secondary would be led by a proven superstar for years to come.
In reality, that's far from what has happened, and instead, the team is just days away from facing the Seahawks in a Super Bowl LX rematch to kick off the new season, with plenty of questions about what that might mean for Gonzalez.
Although he has been present for most of the offseason, he missed practice, which Mike Vrabel suggested was due to an injury. But given the ongoing negotiations on his contract extension, it's more likely he was skipping practice to make a statement.
From the looks of it, he will be suited up on Wednesday night, just as the defense desperately needs him to be. But there is a slight chance he'll make his biggest statement yet by holding out until his extension is signed, as plenty of others have done before him.
That's something that former Patriots' superstar and Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore would do, and has done, and made it clear that if he were in Gonzalez's shoes, that's the route he would take this week.
Stephon Gilmore would not be against Christian Gonzalez making a bold statement to the Patriots
During a recent appearance on 98.5's The Sports Hub this past week, Gilmore spoke highly of the cornerback, who has been friends with him before Gonzalez was drafted in the league, and shared his belief that he has all the talent to make him one of, if not the best in the NFL today.
"I think Christian has all the ability to do it. He's been consistent, he had a great Super Bowl performance. ... He's got all the intangibles to do it. All the corners in the league now, it's just the consistency of doing it year in and year out."
Doubling down on his high praise for Gonzalez, Gilmore candidly said he probably wouldn't suit up in that situation when asked, and while that's understandable, it would be an absolute disaster for the Patriots' defense.
That's what makes the situation even more dire, and further proof that they should've reached an agreement with Gonzalez months ago to avoid this possible reality.
"Honestly, I'm probably not. The thing I would struggle with, too, I think Christian is -- whoever's the highest paid, I think he's better than those guys. I think he shows way more man coverage than those guys. ... McDuffie, he was the highest paid. I think Witherspoon's pretty good. I think (Patrick) Surtain (II) is the top. ... But the style (Gonzalez) plays, I think he can play a lot of man coverage. He can lock on to guys.
I think he deserves to get what he's earned, because those guys got it with no problem. I think he deserves it. ... Sometimes, it's just the situation you're in, because if he was somewhere else and they wanted to get it over with, they would just do it. So, sometimes, things take time."
It's hard to disagree with his assertion that Gonzalez deserves what he's earned, because he has, and he's proven that time and time again. If his performance didn't make it obvious enough, seeing how the secondary fares without him should've been the strongest example yet.
That could be the future the Patriots are looking at if they don't extend him before Wednesday's opener.
That means time is ticking, as they are heading to Seattle (presumably) on Tuesday and won't be in a position to deal with further negotiations while on the road. So, they need to kick it into high gear over the next 24 hours, or they're only increasing the chance that Gonzalez does exactly what Gilmore would do: not play.
That's far from the kind of start they should want for their 2026 season.
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