New England Patriots
Gonzalez dominated on Sunday in opposition to the Chargers, giving up zero catches on 5 targets and 26 protection snaps.
FOXBOROUGH — Patriots star cornerback Christian Gonzalez is heading in the right direction as he navigates by the NFL’s concussion protocol.
Regardless of suffering a concussion during last Sunday’s victory over the Chargers within the wild-card spherical of the playoffs, the defensive again was again on the observe subject Wednesday because the Patriots ready for Sunday’s divisional-round bout in opposition to the Texans at Gillette Stadium.
According to New England’s injury report, Gonzalez was a restricted participant throughout Wednesday’s observe, that means that he’s formally reached Stage 4 of the league’s five-step “return to participation” protocol.
The ultimate step is “full soccer exercise,” that means that Gonzalez nonetheless has just a few extra practices to be cleared for full contact and get the inexperienced mild to play on Sunday in opposition to Houston.
A wholesome Gonzalez could be a welcome sight for a Patriots protection that dominated earlier this week in opposition to the Chargers. In line with Subsequent Gen Stats, Gonzalez didn’t enable any catches on 5 targets inside 26 protection snaps in that win over Los Angeles.
Talking on Monday, Mike Vrabel didn’t lay out an official timeline for Gonzalez’s availability.
“Gonzo continues to play at a excessive degree,” Vrabel stated. “These are the expectations that he has for himself and that we’ve for him, and yeah, I’d say that he could be within the protocol. How lengthy that lasts, I don’t know, however if you don’t return to the sport, once they received’t allow you to return within the recreation, that will put him within the protocol.
“So, wherever that goes, that goes, however we admire what he’s completed and his willingness to line up completely different locations. It’s not fairly as simple as — we’ve been by this, however completely different coverages, places, motions, and issues like that. So, he’s dealt with that each one rather well. Hopefully, we’ll get him again.”
If cleared for Sunday, Gonzalez would doubtless be matched up in opposition to Houston’s prime extensive receiver, be it Nico Collins (whose standing may very well be unsure after struggling a concussion on Monday vs. Pittsburgh), Christian Kirk, or rookies Jayden Higgins or Jaylin Noel.
In his third season within the NFL, Gonzalez has allowed 35 catches on 80 targets for 357 yards, with one landing and no interceptions. He has recorded 69 tackles, 10 go breakups, and one deal with for loss.
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