It’s certainly a great sign for the New England Patriots that cornerback Christian Gonzalez is already getting a head start on preparing for his second season in the NFL.
Gonzalez saw his promising rookie campaign come to a premature end after just four games due to a torn labrum. But over three months removed from that injury, Gonzalez was back on the field recently going through an offseason workout.
He posted a video from his trainer, Christian White, to his Instagram story on Saturday, which was shared by WEEI’s Mike Kadlick, as Gonzalez looked unbothered going through a variety of drills. Gonzalez’s mind definitely is on building off an encouraging, albeit shortened rookie season.
“It’s bout to get REAL. Yr2…” Gonzalez captioned the post.
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The Patriots selected Gonzalez out of Oregon with the No. 17 pick in last year’s draft and the 21-year-old quickly became a starting member of New England’s secondary. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound corner registered 17 tackles, one sack, one interception and three passes defended this past season. He played 100% of the defensive snaps in the first two games and followed it up by playing 98% of the defensive snaps in a Week 3 road win over the New York Jets.
Gonzalez seems well on the mend from his shoulder injury. In October, Gonzalez posted that “surgery went good,” and this workout video is another indication that he’s progressing at a strong rate and shouldn’t be hindered once New England’s offseason program starts.
The return of Gonzalez next season will give the Patriots secondary a much-needed boost as they were forced to turn to Shaun Wade and Alex Austin with that unit hampered by injuries.
Featured image via Eric Canha/USA TODAY Sports Images
