Gonzalez is not among the six players ruled out by the Patriots for Week 4.
Two months after suffering a hamstring injury in practice, Christian Gonzalez is set to make his season debut on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. The New England Patriots’ starting cornerback, who was named second-team All-Pro last season and is among the best players in the NFL at his position, is not among the six players made inactive by the team ahead of the Week 4 contest.
Gonzalez originally sustained his injury during the first padded practice of this year’s Patriots training camp. While there was initial optimism that the ailment would not keep him out long, the recovery process did not go as smoothly as initially hoped; the 23-year-old was only able to return to practice ahead of New England’s Week 3 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, a contest he eventually was ruled out for.
“I was upset,” Gonzalez said about being made inactive for that particular contest. “But, I mean, sometimes you have to look at yourself and make sure you’re all the way ready. Hamstrings are a tough, tough injury. It’s a tough spot. So that’s what it is.”
A week later, the outlook has changed. While it remains to be seen how much action Gonzalez will receive versus Carolina, his return is a big step forward for both him and the Patriots defense — one he has been looking forward to for a while now.
“I’m excited,” he said on Wednesday.
However, two weeks into the season he remains an afterthought on offense. The rest of the Patriots’ inactives, meanwhile, look as follows:
Patriots inactives
- QB Tommy DeVito
- WR Efton Chism III
- LG Jared Wilson
- OL Caedan Wallace
- DT Eric Gregory
- ED Elijah Ponder
The Patriots entered the weekend with one player ruled out: after missing the entire week of practice due to knee and ankle injuries, left guard Jared Wilson was ruled out for the contest against the Panthers on Friday. The rookie’s place in the starting lineup is expected to go to veteran Ben Brown.
Besides Wilson, the Patriots’ other inactives are all healthy scratches.
This also means that the four players classified as questionable ahead of the game have all been cleared. This includes Gonzalez as well as right guard Mike Onwenu (shoulder) and outside linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson (knee).
Kickoff between the Patriots and Panthers in Foxborough is set for 1 p.m. ET.
Category: General Sports
