Patriots Veteran ‘Teased’ Top Rookie After Welcome-To-NFL Moment

Christian Gonzalez wasn’t asked to do anything overly physical in his 12 Patriots training camp practices. There was little live contact, with hardly any tackling during team drills.

And on his first play in an actual NFL game, you could tell.

Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud connected with receiver Nico Collins on the very first play of Houston’s preseason win over New England last Thursday night. After catching the ball near the sideline, Collins lowered his shoulder into Gonzalez, who ran over after starting in zone coverage.

The collision sent Gonzalez, the 17th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, backward roughly five yards at Gillette Stadium.

Gonzalez, who admitted to Patriots defensive back Jalen Mills that the play “woke” him up, settled in and finished with three tackles and a forced fumble in limited action. But the wake-up call still resulted in some light-hearted ribbing from some of his veteran teammates.

“Yeah, you always got that welcome-to-the-NFL moment,” safety Adrian Phillips told reporters after Sunday’s practice. “And we teased him about it a little bit. But everybody goes through that.

“I remember mine. I was on kickoff, I got double-teamed, and after the play, they still were going and they picked me up and slammed me to the ground. Everybody has that welcome-to-the-NFL moment.”

Phillips also enjoyed seeing Patriots rookies get their first game action while finally shedding their temporary training camp numbers.

“It was just fun seeing all the rookies go out there,” he said. “All the guys that haven’t competed in an NFL game — and just go out there, cut loose and just have fun. And actually wear the numbers they plan to wear during the season.”

New England will practice again Monday in Foxboro, Mass., before taking Tuesday off for travel to Wisconsin. The Patriots will engage in two joint practices with the Green Bay Packers this week before Saturday night’s preseason matchup at Lambeau Field.