Christian Gonzalez Injury: Patriots Rookie Reportedly Out For Season

A week ago, Christian Gonzalez looked like he had the inside track toward winning the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year Award.

Now, he reportedly is looking at a lost season.

Gonzalez likely will miss the rest of the campaign due to a torn labrum, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported Wednesday morning. The 17th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft dislocated his shoulder Sunday in the New England Patriots’ ugly road loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

Rapoport added Gonzalez will have surgery “soon.”

The news on Gonzalez arrived moments after Rapoport reported the Patriots acquired cornerback J.C. Jackson in a trade with the Los Angeles Chargers. Jackson rose to stardom in New England before signing a lucrative contract with the Chargers in 2022.

Jackson’s battled on-field struggles, injuries and off-field legal issues since landing in Los Angeles.

Even with the addition of Jackson, the Patriots still have depth issues at corner. Jonathan Jones missed the last three games, and Jack Jones (hamstring) still was on injured reserve at the time of this writing. Marcus Jones (torn labrum) also is on IR and must miss at least the next two games.

New England might be able to piece things together in the secondary without Gonzalez. But there’s no denying the Patriots defense is in a worse place with the standout rookie out of the picture.