The New England Patriots couldn’t have waited any longer to extend cornerback Christian Gonzalez. It’s the latest anyone has ever signed an offseason extension in franchise history, so despite the fact they technically could have waited a few more hours, we’re taking liberties to sensationalize things… Gonzalez reportedly agreed to terms on his long-awaited extension on the eve of his club’s season-opening matchup with the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field — putting pen to paper on a four-year, $135 million extension on Tuesday. If he waited any longer things would have gotten even more awkward than they already were, but as it stands he was able to dip the pen in enough time for it to dry around the time of kickoff… not only changing the overall direction of one team but the entire season.
It’s about time we kickstart things around the NFL, so let’s take a look at how the richest contract for a cornerback in league history, as well as a few other things, will impact the Patriots-Seahawks on Wednesday: Gonzalez is in an interesting position as his last individual matchup on his rookie scale contract and his first individual matchup on his record-breaking extension will come against the same guy… Jaxon Smith Njigba. JSN was all but shut down during their matchup in Super Bowl LX, finishing with just 27 receiving yards on four catches, serving as the club’s fourth most valuable receiver behind Cooper Kupp (6-61), AJ Barner (4-55), and Rashid Shaheed (2-27) — a rough night for the guy who won 2025 AP Offensive Player of the Year. Gonzo was the best player on the field for the eventual losers, making two huge plays early in the contest that prevented a laugher from becoming an all-time ass-kicking.
It’s safe to assume those two will be tied at the hip once again… If things mirror what happened in the postseason, we could be talking about a much different result. If there is any sort of shift in the direction of the wide receiver, you might want to tune into sports radio around New England on Thursday. TreVeyon Henderson was ruled out from the game on Tuesday, leaving plenty of questions at the running back position beyond Rhamondre Stevenson.
Corey Kiner was acquired right around the time of cutdown day, but his lack of knowledge within the system could force the club’s hand when it comes to elevating players from the practice squad — Lan Larison was around last season while Hassan Haskins has previously worked under the same coaching staff. Harold Landry III won’t be around either, which leaves toms of pressure on depth options Gabe Jacas, Elijah Ponder, and Quintayvious Hutchins to fill the gaps alongside Dre’Mont Jones. If you’re unfamiliar with the majority of those names, we don’t blame you.
The Patriots have left themselves vulnerable at running back and with their pass-rushers, so don’t be surprised if we look back at this game and identify those two spots as the ones that swung the game in someone’s favor. Jadarian Price and George Holani have some huge shoes to fill after the departure of Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker. Nick Emmanwori, Ty Okada, and Coby Bryant — the latter of which is now a member of the Chicago Bears — won’t be available in the secondary, leaving tons of pressure on the likes of rookie Bud Clark and veteran Julian Love.
If you take those two positions and match them up directly with the opposition, you can see that the lack of overall depth this week both plays into the weaknesses and strengths of the roster over in New England. New England linebacker Robert Spillane doesn’t have many quality options in his linebacker room, but how hard can it be to keep up with rookies and career backups? New England quarterback Drake Maye is probably itching to air it out to new weapons AJ Brown and Romeo Doubs, so it’s probably nice knowing the opposing secondary isn’t at full strength, isn't it?
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