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With Devon Witherspoon deal done, Christian Gonzalez is up next
Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon is the highest-paid player in the league at his position. It may not last for long.
Witherspoon's four-year, $132 million extension sets the new-money APY bar at $33 million. Gonzalez will now try to leapfrog that number.
It was the plan all along, especially since Witherspoon and Gonzalez are represented by the same firm. Witherspoon first, Gonzalez second. chickenroad-game.rodeo
Both had been practicing while awaiting their rewards for three solid NFL seasons. Gonzalez has missed multiple sessions in recent days, but the absence has been attributed to an injury. (Even if it's an "injury.")
"He’s not ready to get back out there and practice yet," Patriots coach Mike Vrabel told reporters on Saturday.
Vrabel also was asked whether team and player are on the same page, given his contract status.
"Absolutely," Vrabel said. "And I think that’s the important thing. I’ve talked about his professionalism, everybody else's. So, this isn’t anything like that. It was something that happened in practice, and he’s where he’s supposed to be when he needs to be there. Treatment, working with Frank [Piraino] and doing those things. But yes, obviously, that’s my job, is to be on the same page with everybody here, players and coaches. And I’m confident that that’s what we are doing, and everybody has a plan each and every day."
The plan likely will now come into closer focus, given that Witherspoon's deal is done. Late last month, Patriots owner Robert Kraft said the team had offered a deal that would make Gonzalez the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL.
The bar has now moved to something more than $33 million per year. Once the details are in on the Witherspoon deal, it should be pretty easy to nail the proper amount and structure.
Curt Cignetti: Indiana Can Play ND At Home 'Since They're Not In A Conference'
Earlier this month, a home-and-home series between the Indiana Hoosiers and Notre Dame Fighting Irish scheduled to take place from 2030-31 was called off, and Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti is disappointed about that — but also used it as an opportunity to throw shade at the Fighting Irish. "I'd like to play Notre Dame. They ought to come to our place twice, and we'll go up there once, since they're not in a conference," Cignetti said in an interview on the Big Ten Network. "It'd be a great in-state game. I guess there's a backstory to that." Of course, Indiana is coming off winning the National Championship for the first time in program history in what was its second year under Cignetti. Over Cignetti's two seasons in Bloomington (2024-25), the Hoosiers are a combined 27-2 overall and 17-1 in Big Ten play, making the College Football Playoff in both seasons. Meanwhile, Notre Dame was edged out of the College Football Playoff last season after going 10-2. That said, as Cignetti noted, the Fighting Irish aren't in a conference, as they're an independent. Now, while Indiana is indeed the defending College Football Playoff champion, it lost to Notre Dame in the first round of the 2024 College Football Playoff in a game played at South Bend, 27-17. The Hoosiers are also 5-24-1 in the all-time series, with the aforementioned playoff loss marking the two teams' first matchup since 1991, with Indiana last beating Notre Dame in 1950 — the last time they met in Bloomington. Indiana opens its 2026 season at home against the North Texas Mean Green on Sept. 5, with its Big Ten opener coming at home against the Northwestern Wildcats on Sept. 25. Notre Dame opens its 2026 campaign at home against the Wisconsin Badgers on Sept. 6.