Hard to believe, seeing as Patriots All-Pro cornerback Christian Gonzalez has been in the NFL for four seasons now and Tetairoa McMillan is just a rookie, but the two do have some history together. McMillan was a freshman with Arizona in 2022, Gonzalez’s final year at Oregon, when the two played each other in what was then the Pac-12. McMillan went for five catches and 48 yards on the day.
On Sunday in Foxborough, Gonzalez was back on the field for the first time this season, and found himself frequently opposite McMillan, who has had a strong opening to his NFL career, with 216 yards on 14 catches in three games. The Patriots limited him to four catches on eight targets (68 yards), part of a stellar defensive effort in Sunday’s 42-13 rout of Carolina.
“Tet’s a great young player, I played him college so I kind of knew a little bit about him,” Gonzalez said after the game. “… He’s a great receiver. He’s big and tall but he can run good routes, he is pretty crafty for how young he is. We went out there and had a good battle, it was fun. It was needed to see game speed, I had not in a long time. So it was fun to get out there with Tet.”
Patriots DBs Struggled Early
The game moves the Patriots to 2-2, and moves Gonzalez firmly back into the role of one of the best defenders in the NFL and a reliable presence on the Patriots’ back line. They had missed that through three weeks, no doubt, having allowed 769 yards passing, which was 39th in the NFL.
Gonzalez’s replacement, primarily Alex Austin, was a steep drop-off, and was rated with a 42.1 grade from Pro Football Focus through three games, which was 96th out of 100 corners. Gonzalez was a 76.1 per PFF last year, 21st out of 222 corners.
“It was fun to finally get out there, get out there in a home game,” he said. “Crowd was rocking and being out there with the guys was just a lot of fun.”
Christian Gonzalez: Return to Play Brought ‘Joy’
Of course, the hamstring injury Gonzalez suffered in late July has been the subject of much scrutiny in New England, because it was originally reported to be minor and there was not expectation that Gonzalez would miss all of training camp, plus the first three weeks of the year.
Gonzalez is eligible for a contract extension this offseason, so speculation–and it was only speculation–held that perhaps he was milking the injury to protect his health and his potentially sizable contract.
Gonzalez seemed relieved to have all that behind him.
“Anything can be a little challenging, not playing for a long time,” he said. “But at the end of the day, I have done this since I was 5 years old. So, kind of, my mindset going into the game today was not really thinking about how long it has been and that—it’s another football game. Go out there and be my 5-year-old self, and go out there and have fun, have that joy of just being back on the field.”