Christian Gonzalez, the Patriots' young defensive back and one of the team's best players, will sit out the team's season-opener because of a hamstring injury he first suffered in July. Gonzalez missed practice this week and did not improve enough to be on the field when New England hosts the Raiders on Sunday.
Gonzalez, a former first round pick in the 2023 draft only played four games as a rookie, but last season he started 16 games and finished sixth on the team with 59 tackles and broke up a team-high 11 passes on his way to being named second-team All-Pro. Thanks to his excellent work at cornerback, the Patriots finished with the 10th-best passing defense in the league.
