Patriots Pick Up Christian Gonzalez's Fifth-Year Option

"We want to make sure that we draft extremely well, and then we identify the guys that we want to keep with us and that have earned long-term extensions with us," Vrabel continued. "And Christian, Gonzo is certainly one of those players, but I can’t comment on the negotiations."

The raise that Gonzalez is getting is substantial. He had only been making roughly $2.2 million on his base rookie salary. Now with this option, he'll be getting that heftier price tag -- a cost the team is more than happy to pay.

His performance in Super Bowl LX was the best showing any Patriots player had. Gonzalez had several pass breakups, including a superhuman effort to break up what would have been a long touchdown to Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Rashid Shaheed. Although he's been banged up at several points in his young career, including missing most of his rookie season in 2023, he's risen the ranks to be one of the NFL's best at his position.

Gonzalez Has Earned The Extra Contract Year

In 2024, he was named a Second Team All-Pro. One season later, while he was snubbed from the All-Pro team, he was voted into his first-career Pro Bowl.

Earlier this month, Wolf was asked for an update on a possible extension for Gonzalez. He was quiet on if any negotiations had been had, but reiterated the same point that's been blurted out for the last few months. The Patriots want Gonzalez to remain with the organization for a long time.

"No Gonzalez update other than I’ll continue to say we want Christian here," Wolf said.

Well, we finally have our first real update on the shutdown cornerback. While this was just a procedural formality, the real question is if and when the Patriots decide to hammer out a contract extension that will keep Gonzalez around for longer than 2027.