FOXBOROUGH - Had Christian Gonzalez chosen not to practice this summer until (if?) his contract extension is completed, it would have been hard to blame him. This addendum - allowing drafted players to be extension eligible after their third season - was collectively bargained for in the last agreement between the league and the players' association.
Gonzalez has chosen a different approach, one that is endearing him to his teammates. Well, except for maybe one. He has been full-go from the outset of training camp, and once again, his one-on-one matchup with A.J. Brown got heated even more so than what we witnessed on Monday. In fact, at one point, Kayshon Boutte felt the need to step between the two after hearing the phrase “grown man,” believing there was a risk of escalation.
“It’s good on good,” Gonzalez said post-practice. “He’s a No. 1 receiver in this league going up against a No. 1 corner. That’s how it’s gonna go. It’s football at the end of the day. There’s never no disrespect or anything.
“We just battling and getting each other better. He’s gonna face corners like that that are gonna gonna yap at him, gonna try to get in his head, and I’m gonna face receivers like that that are strong and come right back at me. So it’s great work for both of us.”
There may not be disrespect, but there’s been an intensity and physicality to their battles that’s gotten to the point where you can’t take your eyes off them, even if the ball goes elsewhere. Gonzalez had solid coverage on Brown during the first team period, and while Brown may have had a half step, Drake Maye’s throw was errant.
Later, during 2-on-2 red zone work, Gonzalez shadowed Brown as he ran a corner route and ended up with a fingertip PBU on a ball that Maye probably could have had a little more arc on.
“He not gonna forget me,” Gonzalez said of his post-play finger pointing at one of the social media coordinators, not, as some reported, at Brown.
Lastly, in the final team period, Brown caught on a comeback with the fourth-year corner draped all over him, and it appeared there were some words exchanged there as well.
“It’s the dog days of camp. It’s starting to - it’s still hot,” Gonzalez said. “About to start getting into joint (practices), and now we’re really into camp. So I mean, of course tempers are going to flare. Everybody’s hot and wants to be the best. So for sure.”
Meanwhile, it’s hard not to watch this competition and wonder what is taking so long with the