FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Marcus Jones and Christian Elliss were pleasantly surprised to see New England Patriots star cornerback Christian Gonzalez back out at practice on Monday.
“I just went out to the practice field, and he was there,” Jones told reporters after Monday's practice. “You know, the most important thing is health and everything. So happy that he’s feeling better and everything and happy to have him back out there on the field.”
"I was happy that he was back," he added. "He's been in meetings and everything, so we've been seeing each other when it comes down to being in the building. But anytime we got a player out there that's been away, we're happy to have him."
As for Kevin Byard, he was told by Gonzalez at their lockers, as they are right next to one another.
"It's good. And our lockers are next to each other, so I kind of briefly saw him in the locker room, and I asked him how he's doing. And he was like, 'I'm going too.' I was like, 'Okay, yeah, that's pretty good.' It's always special to have one of the better corners in this league, to have him out here with us. And obviously, as we start to ramp up, get into the season, for him to be able to go out there and start practicing fully, it was pretty cool. So, excited about him being able to be healthy and be out there playing with him."
After being sidelined for a handful of practices, Gonzalez returned to the field, with head coach Mike Vrabel revealing that he would take part and adding that they are "hopeful that he will be able to do some stuff." But, it wasn't just a few activities he participated in. Instead, Gonzalez was a full participant, doing everything from one-on-ones and two-on-twos, as well as the team periods.
And he's doing all this while still waiting for a new contract extension.
"He's a ball player first and foremost. He loves football. He loves being around the team. He loves lining up and playing against the best," linebacker Christian Elliss explained. "Being one of the best corners, if not the best corner in the league, he just is a player. Like at the end of the day, it doesn't matter what he has going on. He's in the lineup and plays, and he locks people down."
However, as for whether Gonzalez will be ready to go for Week 1, the head coach wouldn't given anything away.
“I’m going to focus on today. I’m not ready to talk about Week 1,” Vrabel said. “I hope that we have to do everything we can to get the guys ready. Each guy has to be ready individually, and then I have to find a way to make sure that the football team is ready and that we’re conditioned and ready to go.”
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: How Patriots players reacted to star CB Christian Gonzalez's return
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