The New England Patriots have made their intentions quite clear that they would like to keep Pro Bowl cornerback Christian Gonzalez beyond the rookie contract that is currently set to expire in 2027. Earlier this offseason, they began putting their words into action.<\/p>\n
According to a report<\/a> by Henry McKenna of Fox Sports, the Patriots and Gonzalez entered \u201cpreliminary conversations\u201d about a contract extension at last month\u2019s Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.<\/p>\n Gonzalez joined the Patriots as the 17th overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Oregon. He has since appeared in a combined 38 regular season and playoff games for the organization, establishing himself as one of the best cornerbacks in all of football.<\/p>\n Now entering the final season of his original four-year rookie contract, there is desire on the Patriots\u2019 part to sign Gonzalez to a long-term deal<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, we love Christian and we\u2019ll talk about those things when the time is appropriate. But Christian took a big step forward this year,\u201d Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said at the Combine. \u201cHe took a big step forward with his play style and we\u2019re excited about having him be a part of our team for the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n Gonzalez became eligible to sign an extension earlier this year, and the expectation is that he will become the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL once a deal is done. That title currently belongs to Trent McDuffie, who recently signed a four-year, $124 million contract<\/a> after getting traded from the Chiefs to the Rams.<\/p>\n