We are officially less than a week away from the NFL kickoff, and the Wednesday night game treats fans to a Super Bowl 60 rematch between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks.
Following the improbable run to the Super Bowl, Mike Vrabel’s Patriots have gone through quite a turbulent offseason. Now heading into the 2026 season, NFL executives are not ranking the Patriots as the AFC’s team to beat despite being the reigning AFC champions.
According to an article by The Athletic, this star player, who remains without a contract extension, could cause issues in the locker room, making the Patriots a prime candidate for major regression in 2026.
Patriots’ Star CB Remains Without Contract Extension
As training camp concludes and the start of the regular season is around the corner, Pro Bowl cornerback Christian Gonzalez is on the verge of beginning the season without a contract extension.
The former first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft is entering the fourth year of his rookie contract, which the Patriots extended through 2027 by exercising his fifth-year option, but he remains without a long-term extension. NFL executives across the league believe this could be a cause for concern in the Patriots’ locker room.
“At some point, they are going to have to buck up and beat some good teams,” one NFL executive told Mike Sando. “I think they are the No. 1 regression team. Lastly, they haven’t re-signed (Christian) Gonzalez yet. If that drags on into the season, it won’t be good in the locker room.”
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Gonzalez, who was a Pro Bowler in 2025, graded out as the 24th-best cornerback in football according to PFN’s CB Impact Metric, with an impact score of 79.9.
In this article ranking AFC teams heading into the 2026 season, the defending AFC champion Patriots rank fourth, behind the Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, and Houston Texans.
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The reason for the surprising fourth-place ranking, aside from the stalled contract discussions involving Gonzalez, is the Patriots’ weak 2025 schedule and their struggles to beat good teams.
In 2026, the Patriots have a jump up in competition, ranking 22nd in strength of schedule. They also played the most football with the Seahawks last season, and the team is not as deep as it was then. These are all signs of possible regression.
Not only does New England have a more difficult season ahead in 2026, but letting one of your best players head into the season without a contract extension is rarely something that works out in your favor. There is potential for a messy season for the Patriots if they struggle out of the gate while Gonzalez continues to wait for a contract extension.
Will the Patriots break the bank for Gonzalez, who expects to be one of, if not the highest-paid, cornerbacks in the NFL? If so, can they avoid letting this process drag into the season, with kickoff just days away? Or will the stalled negotiations with their star cornerback cause another distraction in an already distracted locker room?
