Christian Gonzalez says he will be back for the Jets. The New England Patriots’ Pro Bowl cornerback was limited on Wednesday after missing two games with a shoulder injury, and he told reporters, “I’m good now, ready for Sunday.” He was one of 15 players on the Patriots’ first injury report of Week 6, and only two of them did not practice.
- Did not practice: cornerback Carlton Davis III (neck), cornerback Karon Prunty (hamstring)
- Limited: receiver A.J. Brown (ankle), tackle Marcus Bryant (ankle), safety Kevin Byard III (chest), left tackle Will Campbell (knee), cornerback Channing Canada (hamstring), linebacker Christian Elliss (chest), cornerback Christian Gonzalez (shoulder), running back TreVeyon Henderson (ankle), outside linebacker Dre’Mont Jones (shoulder), cornerback Marcus Jones (ankle), right tackle Morgan Moses (foot), cornerback Charles Woods (shoulder), safety Craig Woodson (shoulder)
- Full: quarterback Drake Maye (right shoulder)
Gonzalez back as the cornerback list grows
Gonzalez hurt the shoulder in the Week 3 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars and said he first thought he was fine. “At that point, you got a lot of adrenaline. Adrenaline covers a lot of things in this sport,” he said. “I’ve been itching, kind of going a little crazy when I’m not getting to play.” He watched Sunday’s 45-17 win over the Las Vegas Raiders from the sideline.
His return comes at the right time, because the rest of the cornerback room is banged up. Mike Vrabel said before practice that he did not expect Davis to be on the field with the neck injury, and Prunty also sat out. Canada, Marcus Jones and Woods were all limited, so five of the corners on the roster showed up on the report.
Brown and Bryant return from injured reserve
Brown practiced for the first time since he went on injured reserve on September 12 with the high ankle sprain from Week 1, which opened his 21-day return window. Vrabel said the team would see how the week goes before deciding whether Brown plays Sunday. “Huge boost. He’s a receiver one,” Byard said. Bryant, the second-year lineman who was rolled up on in the preseason, also came off injured reserve to practice and gives the Patriots tackle depth.
Campbell and Henderson are the ones to watch
That depth matters because Campbell, the starting left tackle, has a sprained right MCL, a source told Cameron Wolfe. Campbell was not on the field at the start of practice but left the locker room in full uniform and was listed as limited. He told Doug Kyed he was going to “do some stuff today” and was feeling good. “Just building up throughout the week. See what happens,” he said. Campbell also said this knee injury felt very different from the one he had last year, which felt much worse.
Henderson, the second-year running back, was reported to have suffered a high ankle sprain in the Raiders game. He was limited, along with Moses at right tackle. Henderson, Campbell, Woods and Dre’Mont Jones all left Sunday’s game with injuries, and Campbell, Canada, Henderson, Marcus Jones and Moses were not seen at the start of Wednesday’s session. Maye was a full participant with the right shoulder listed.
What comes next
The 3-2 Patriots host the 2-3 New York Jets at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, October 18, at 1 p.m. EDT. The Jets opened their week with Breece Hall, Adonai Mitchell, Joseph Ossai and Dylan Parham not practicing. New England then has a short week before a Thursday night game at Chicago, so Thursday’s report on Davis, Campbell and Henderson, and Friday’s game designations, will show how careful the team plans to be.
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