Patriots Injury News Highlights Offseason Miss

The New England Patriots have certainly not gotten off to a great start at training camp when it comes to injuries, as their two starting cornerbacks — Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis — are now both sidelined with injuries.

Gonzalez was one of the best cornerbacks in football last season, and Davis was signed to a lucrative multi-year contract in free agency to give the Patriots a rather impressive tandem in their secondary.

The problem, though, is that both players have an injury history. Gonzalez was limited to just four games during his rookie campaign in 2023 due to a shoulder injury, and Davis has never played a full season since entering the NFL back in 2018.

You would then think that New England, with all of its cap space, would have added another cornerback for some insurance, but instead, the Pats opted to roll with what they had, only selecting Kobee Minor in the seventh round of the NFL Draft.

So, yeah: it seems like the Patriots made a pretty glaring mistake here. Outside of Marcus Jones, New England doesn't really have any proven depth at the position. Alex Austin is an intriguing young player, but very inexperienced. Beyond that, the Pats don't really have anything.

The good news is that there is still time for the Patriots to make a move. Veterans like Stephon Gilmore, Asante Samuel Jr. and Rasul Douglas remain available, and again, New England has plenty of money to sign one of them to a one-year deal. But this is honestly something the Pats should have taken care of in advance. Or they should have at least used a higher draft pick on a corner.

Maybe Austin or someone like Marcellas Dial Jr. can step up in the wake of the injuries, but right now, it's looking like the Patriots committed a rather significant error in judgment when it comes to the depth of their cornerback position.