Christian Gonzalez Injury: Positive Update On Patriots Rookie

The injury Patriots rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez suffered late in Wednesday’s practice evidently was no more than a scare.

New England’s top 2023 draft pick was back on the field and moving well Friday evening ahead of the Patriots’ preseason finale against the Tennessee Titans.

Dan Roche of WBZ-TV captured a video of Gonzalez during pregame warmups:

Gonzalez landed awkwardly while trying to break up a pass near the end of the Patriots’ final preseason practice. He hopped to the sideline and had his left ankle/foot evaluated by members of New England’s medical staff.

The 21-year-old was able to walk over to join the rest of the team for Bill Belichick’s post-practice huddle, but the severity of his injury wasn’t immediately clear.

That he seemingly avoided anything serious is great news for New England’s cornerback group, which already was shorthanded before Gonzalez went down. Veteran corner Jonathan Jones has not practiced since Aug. 3 as he recovers from an undisclosed injury, and seventh-round rookie Isaiah Bolden, who was competing for a backup role, landed in concussion protocol after being carted off during last Saturday’s exhibition game in Green Bay.

Gonzalez, the 17th overall pick in this year’s draft, is expected to be a Week 1 starter for the Patriots, who will face a barrage of high-end receivers in the opening month of the regular season (A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Garrett Wilson, CeeDee Lamb).

The Patriots reportedly planned to sit most of their starters Friday night against Tennessee, so it was unclear whether Gonzalez would see action even if healthy. The highly touted Oregon product played most of the first half in each of New England’s first two preseason games, primarily lining up opposite second-year pro Jack Jones.