The New England Patriots already face plenty of offensive talent within the AFC East. Receivers such as Garrett Wilson, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle already patrol the division.
The good news for New England is Christian Gonzalez consistently does his job against those weapons. The bad news is multiple teams in the AFC East added more firepower in trades on Tuesday.
The New York Jets finally completed the trade that gets Aaron Rodgers his favorite wide receiver, acquiring Davante Adams and his hefty contract from the Las Vegas Raiders. Elsewhere, Josh Allen gets a new No. 1 target after the offseason trade of Stefon Diggs. Now, Amari Cooper heads to the Bills from the Cleveland Browns to spark Buffalo’s offense.
New York defeated the Patriots in a convincing 24-3 win in Week 3 while New England has both of its matchups with Buffalo ahead on the schedule. Gonzalez has never faced Cooper before in his career and missed the matchup against Adams and the Raiders in 2023 when a torn labrum ended his rookie season for the Patriots in Week 4 against the Dallas Cowboys.
Gonzalez is also yet to face the Bills and will face them on Dec. 22 on the road before the Patriots host Buffalo in the season finale on Jan. 5.
The Patriots should have faith in Gonzalez, who’s answered the call for the most part against every elite receiver he’s faced in 10 career games in the NFL. That doesn’t mean his job against the AFC East this season didn’t get far more difficult.
For now, Gonzalez prepares for Sunday’s matchup against Christian Kirk and Gabe Davis when the Patriots battle the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.