Christian Gonzalez holding off on signing a record Patriots offer, keeping his reasons private

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Christian Gonzalez may have an offer from the New England Patriots that would make him the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL. But something is keeping him from accepting it for now.

What that is exactly New England's star defender would rather keep private, even after owner Robert Kraft's public proclamations that the deal the team has put on the table is larger than any offered in Patriots history.

“Everybody knows what Mr. Kraft has done ... I respect what Mr. Kraft has brought to the franchise,” Gonzalez said Tuesday. “It's something we don’t want to handle to the media and keep that with the team and my (agents) and go on about that.”

The assumption is that Gonzalez and his representatives are likely holding off an accepting an offer from the Patriots until Seattle Seahawks star cornerback Devon Witherspoon inks his anticipated contract extension first.

Witherspoon, a three-time Pro Bowler who was drafted fifth in 2023 ahead of Gonzalez at No. 17, is reportedly getting close to a deal with the defending Super Bowl championships.

Whichever player signs first is expected to set the new benchmark.

Los Angeles Rams cornerback Trent McDuffie’s four-year contract currently tops NFL cornerbacks with an average yearly value of approximately $31 million.

Is being the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL important to Gonzalez?

“I’ll keep that between my team and the front office,” he said.

The Patriots picked up Gonzalez’s fifth-year option in April, meaning he will make just over $18 million in the final year of his rookie deal in 2027. But he entered the offseason seeking long-term security.

Gonzalez said he wishes nothing but the best for Witherspoon in his negotiations with Seattle.

“Spoon is my guy,” Gonzalez said. “We work out together all the time. Respect what he's doing, he's an amazing player. But it's kind of like what I said, keep that between my team and the front office.”

Still, Gonzalez acknowledged this offseason has been unusual as the extension negotiations have played out.

“It's different. But at the end of the day it's business and there's ball,” he said. “I'm blessed every day to be able to do this as my job. So you can't get too much into it. You have to wake up and come out here and play football for a job.”

As far as whether he has any apprehension regarding potential injury while continuing to practice during negotiations, Gonzalez said he's not concerned. He said he plans to be on the field for the team's first padded practice on Thursday. That's even after he suffered a hamstring injury during the first training camp practice in pads last year.

“No, not at all, I mean, no football player ever thinks of, ‘I’m gonna come out here and get injured.' You don’t think like that,” he said. “It was a hammy. It was a year ago. Things happen. I'm out here now getting ready for this season.”

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