Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez addressed his contract situation during the fourth day of training camp Tuesday.
On the first day of camp last week, Patriots owner Robert Kraft said the team offered Gonzalez a contract that would make him both the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history and the highest-paid Patriot ever.
“Yeah, I mean, everyone knows what Mr. Kraft has done. A ton of respect for Mr. Kraft and what he’s done for this franchise,” Gonzalez said. “It’s just something we don’t want to handle in the media. I keep that with the team and my team, and go about that.”
When asked whether Kraft’s remarks on the situation bothered him, Gonzalez would not comment.
He is remaining optimistic amid the current standoff.
“I hope so,” Gonzalez said when asked whether he thinks a deal will get done.
Gonzalez has been willing to practice in full thus far as contract negotiations continue.
“These are my guys,” Gonzalez said. “It’s hard to just sit and watch.”
Gonzalez also said, “I’ll be out here,” when asked if he would take part in padded practices.
“We love Christian Gonzalez,” Kraft said Saturday. “We love him as a player, as a person, and that’s why we’ve made an offer to him to make him the highest-paid player to ever play that position in the NFL. And coincidentally, it is the highest contract in Patriots franchise history. So we’re glad we drafted him, he’s developed here, and we hope he’ll be with us for a long time.”
Gonzalez is entering his fourth NFL season after being selected 17th overall by New England in the 2023 NFL Draft.
He has two years remaining on his contract, and will earn a base salary of $2.259 million this year.
