Patriots’ Christian Gonzalez practices while in concussion protocol before Divisional Round

The New England Patriots still have concerns about the availability of star cornerback Christian Gonzalez for this coming Sunday’s AFC Divisional Round clash against the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.

The former Oregon Ducks star defensive back is still in the NFL’s concussion protocol after suffering a head injury in the AFC Wild Card Round against the Los Angeles Chargers.

However, the fact that he practiced on Wednesday, albeit at a limited capacity, was a step in the right direction toward a possible appearance against the Texans.

Gonzalez’s practice appearance was to be expected, with New England head coach Mike Vrabel saying earlier in the day that he was anticipating the former first-round NFL draft pick to be “out there,” via Andrew Callahan of The Boston Herald.

Apart from Gonzalez, other Patriots players who logged limited practices on Wednesday were tight end Hunter Henry, linebacker Anfernee Jennings, running back Terrell Jennings, linebacker/defensive end Harold Landry and defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga, as reported by Mike Reiss of ESPN via a social media post on X, formerly Twitter.

The 23-year-old Gonzalez is undeniably among the Patriots’ best defensive weapons, and his presence on Sunday will certainly be a huge boost for New England’s stop unit.

Gonzalez, who earned his Pro Bowl nod in 2025, played in 14 games in the regular season and while he did not record an interception, he had 10 passes defended to go along with 69 combined tackles. Opponents also had just a 53.6 percent success rate when he was targeted in the regular season.

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