New England Patriots first-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft finally signed his rookie contract ahead of training camp. After a crafty trade back from the 14th pick to the 17th pick Bill Belichick and his staff decided to draft the stud cornerback out of the University of Oregon. Finally, on Friday, the rookie inked his new contract to officially be part of the Patriots franchise.
After signing the deal, the young corner went to Instagram to deliver a message to Patriots nation. The Colombian native went on to say, "Thank you Lord! Beyond blessed! Now let's work..."
#Patriots first round pick Christian Gonzalez weighs in on signing his rookie contract.
— Mike Kadlick (@mikekadlick) July 22, 2023
“Thank you Lord! Beyond blessed. Now let’s work..”
(IG: christian.gonzalez3) pic.twitter.com/L1KjsmuS6N
As far as the deal goes, Gonzalez inked a four-year deal totaling just over 15.1 million dollars. The signing bonus for the 21-year-old fell just short of eight million.
With camp set to begin next week, the Patriots have all their draft picks signed and ready to go.
It's a four-year, $15,102,868 contract with a $7,983,904 signing bonus for #Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez. https://t.co/i0IzFrDlSN
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) July 21, 2023
In his 2022 campaign, the six-foot-two cornerback tallied four interceptions with 50 tackles for the Ducks. His four interceptions put him third across the Pac-12 conference as defenses shied away from throwing in his direction.
Going into camp, Gonzalez expects to be among the most watched players by all Patriots staff, fans, and media. His smooth change of direction skills should be on full display as the men hit the field in Foxboro this upcoming week.
During the NFL draft process, Gonzalez was considered one of the best athletes in the class, scoring a 9.95 (out of 10) in his relative athletic score.
Christian Gonzalez was drafted with pick 17 of round 1 in the 2023 draft class. He scored a 9.95 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 13 out of 2222 CB from 1987 to 2023. https://t.co/Ir9MLKPHo2 pic.twitter.com/Ulth05xBnH
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 28, 2023
The Patriots will be leaning on the rookie this year to help boost their secondary. With questions looming around the Jack Jones situation, and the cornerback depth already slim, Gonzalez will be looked to fulfill the opposite corner role from Jonathan Jones.
Camp gets underway Wednesday, July 26th at 9:30 AM as practices are expected to be two hours long. Fans are welcome to the practice free of charge as gates open at 8 AM.