It's not often that a player becomes newsworthy simply by participating fully in practices, but that's exactly what Christian Gonzalez did to open training camp.
The Patriots top cornerback is seeking a contract extension, and he chose to skip much of the offseason program and was present but not overly active during the team's mandatory mini-camp. But once camp opened last week, Gonzalez was not only on the field in uniform, but he took part in virtually every rep of 11-on-11 work the team conducted.
On the first day of camp, owner Robert Kraft was asked about the potential for a new deal for his corner and indicated the team had made Gonzalez an offer that would make him the highest paid cornerback in the league as well as the highest paid Patriot of all time.
On Tuesday, Gonzalez was asked about his boss' comments and predictably chose to keep his thoughts mostly to himself.
"Everybody knows what Mr. Kraft has done," Gonzalez began. "A ton of respect for Mr. Kraft and what he's done for this franchise. It's just something we don't want to handle in the media. I keep that with the team and my team and go on about that."
Gonzalez is entering his fourth year in the league and is eligible to extend his rookie deal for the first time. He remains under team control this season, and the Patriots opted to pick up his fifth-year option, meaning in essence the second-team All-Pro could have to wait two more seasons before cashing in.
That doesn't seem to be impacting Gonzalez' approach, however. Through four practices he remains the team's best cover corner, and arguably its best overall defender if not player. He's shadowed newcomer A.J. Brown in man coverage on several plays and hasn't allowed much success.
His on-field attitude appears to be high as well. On Tuesday he was the first to greet teammate Charles Woods as the latter made a terrific play to prevent a completion to Brown in early 11-on-11 work, and an enthusiastic celebration between the two soon followed.
If there is any animosity over the lack of a new deal, Gonzalez didn't express it to the media and hasn't shown it on the field. He repeatedly stated that he wished to keep any contract-related details between his team and the front office, and any future changes to his participation level don't appear to be in the cards.
"These are my guys. It's hard to just sit and watch," Gonzalez said.
When asked if that will be the case on Thursday when full-padded practices get underway, he stated simply: "I'll be out here."
Beyond Gonzalez' first comments of camp, here are one man's observations from Day 4 in Foxborough:
-- No changes to the recent attendance list as Harold Landry and C.J. Dippre remain on PUP while Terrell Jennings, Brenden Schooler and Gabe Jacas remain on NFI.
-- There were a couple of players unable to finish Tuesday's practice, however, and both are cornerbacks. Carlton Davis appeared to be limping early on and was replaced by Charles Woods during the first 11-on-11 period. After a strong series of reps, which included back-to-back incompletions to Brown with him in tight coverage, Woods was also forced to leave the field. Late in practice, Woods received assistance back to the New Balance Athletics Center from a couple members of the medical staff. No word on the nature or severity of either injury.
-- Romeo Doubs and Kyle Williams were on the field early, catching passes off the Jugs machine well before most of their teammates arrived.
-- The rookie "hype men" for Tuesday's practice were Eli Raridon and Tanner Arkin. The rookie tight ends circled the right practice field just before warmups, trying to ramp up the intensity level in the crowd.
-- One element that has stood out in the passing game during the early portion of camp has been the abundance of receiver groupings at offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels' disposal. The personnel seemingly changes on every play, with groups including Brown and Doubs, Mack Hollins and Brown, Hollins and Kayshon Boutte as well as three-receiver sets with DeMario Douglas, Doubs and Hollins and Douglas, Doubs and Boutte and virtually every other combination available. Hard to keep up with all the mixing and matching, but clearly McDaniels likes the versatility it provides and he's likely searching for the right matchups.
-- In terms of production, it's been a bit of a mixed bag for the group thus far. Boutte and Douglas have enjoyed strong starts to camp. Both have been active with Douglas darting across the field effectively while Boutte has turned in big plays in every practice. Douglas got a step on Marcus Jones twice on crossing routes, the first of which saw Drake Maye overthrow him while the second would have resulted in a nice gain. Boutte again got behind the coverage downfield and effectively boxed out Kevin Byard before grabbing a long touchdown. On the flip side, Brown and Doubs appear to be still searching for a comfort level in the offense. Neither has made many significant catches as both have been limited to short screens and/or dump-offs. It's understandable if neither is quite up to speed in the offense (Brown said he felt he had about 90 percent of it down when speaking on Monday) and so far, Maye is still looking to get them involved more consistently.
-- Robert Kraft was on the field for most of the practice and spent some time chatting with Maye during the workout.
-- Although he doesn't receive many reps, it's hard not to be impressed with Behren Morton. The rookie seventh-round pick looks like he has a nice grasp of the offense and runs the plays efficiently. He's shown nice accuracy and arm strength as well. He threw an absolute dime to Cameron Dorner on the sideline to complete one pass despite decent coverage. When Morton has been at the controls the timing of the plays appears to be somewhat normal, which isn't generally the case when rookie late-round quarterbacks get their reps.
-- Arkin continues to be a presence early in 11-on-11 periods, often serving as the blocking tight end. He caught one pass but generally when he's in the lineup a running play is forthcoming. The rookie out of Illinois was in for the first rep during one of the series with the first group and is getting an opportunity to earn a role. His true test will come later in the week when the pads come on.
-- Andy Borregales broke up two long periods of 11-on-11 work with some field goals. He did miss one of his six attempts wide to the left after a low snap that holder Bryce Baringer barely got down in time, but otherwise Borregales nailed his remaining five attempts.
-- In addition to Gonzalez, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Christian Elliss, K.J. Britt and Kyle Williams spent time chatting with the media.
-- The Patriots will enjoy their first day off during camp on Wednesday before getting back at it in earnest on Thursday. That's when the team will be in full pads for the first time. With heavy rains in the local forecast there's a possibility that the practice will be moved inside the WIN Waste Innovations Field House, and if that is the case the practice will be closed to fans. If the weather cooperates, fans will be welcome and the workout will take place outdoors as normal and is scheduled to run from 10:15 a.m.-12 p.m. with gates set to open at 9:15 a.m. Please check with Patriots.com for all the latest schedule updates.
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