The New England Patriots have dragged their feet when it comes to getting an extension done with Christian Gonzalez. Despite being one of their best and most important players, there are some holdups when it comes to his contract.
ESPN's Adam Schefter was a guest on the Pat McAfee Show on Thursday and revealed that New England may not want to give Gonzalez the money that Devon Witherspoon got from the Seattle Seahawks.
And with that now being public knowledge, the Patriots are playing a dangerous game.
“I don’t think that at any one point here that they have been close to a deal. Devon Witherspoon and Christian Gonzalez have the same agent, so in a way he can kind of dictate how this is going to go and see into the future in a better way than each of the two teams can," Schefter said. "So Witherspoon was going to get done first, and it got done at an average of $33 [million] a year. The Patriots have not been in that category. Witherspoon has established the benchmark and the Patriots haven’t gone there. They weren’t there before, and they don’t appear to be going there right now.”
The Patriots are sending Christian Gonzalez a troubling message with their contract stance
General manager Eliot Wolf recently spoke to the media and mentioned the team's "cash budget" as it relates to potential extensions for Gonzalez and quarterback Drake Maye, who becomes eligible next year. Wolf also said that the team is working towards a resolution with Gonzalez and has already put a market-setting offer on the table.
Witherspoon recently got a four-year, $132 million extension with $97.3 million guaranteed. He comes in at $33 million a year, making him the highest-paid cornerback in the league. Of course Gonzalez would want to top that number.
That's the name of the game when it comes to getting extensions. The latest player to get one, especially the high-end guys at quarterback, receiver, cornerback and edge, wants to become the top-paid guy on the market. And that's what Gonzalez wants.
Earlier in August, Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston revealed that Gonzalez wants his extension to take into account the rising salary cap. That means he would want a deal in the $34 million to $35 million range, but if the Patriots don't even want to pay him in the range of the $33 million that Witherspoon got, there are plenty of problems that could arise.
There's no question that Gonzalez is one of the best cornerbacks in the league. He’s 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds. There isn't a receiver in the league who will bully him at the line of scrimmage, and his recovery speed allows him to catch up to any receiver who is able to get past him.
He was arguably the best player on the field in the Super Bowl loss to the Seattle Seahawks, which featured two diving pass breakups.
The Washington product has a rare combination of size and speed. He can solidify himself as the second-best cornerback in the league behind Denver's Patrick Surtain. There's no hiding how talented he is, but the Pats are playing a risky game with one of their top players.
Instead of paying him what the market says he's worth, they appear to be playing hardball. Gonzalez didn't hold out of camp and is ready to have another dominant season. Yet, this can't make him happy.
How this unfolds remains to be seen, but this isn't a good look for the organization.
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