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The New England Patriots are in the NFL rumors spotlight before Week 1, after the Seattle Seahawks made cornerback Devon Witherspoon the highest-paid nickleback in the league. However, Patriots owner Robert Kraft made a public remark to sources, stating his approach to contract negotiations. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on what Kraft told sources: “Not as much optimism, hasn’t been as smooth as a negotiation. Robert Kraft, the owner, had said publicly, ‘Hey, we offered him to make him the highest-paid corner in the league; he didn’t take it.’ I don’t sense Gonzalez loved that all that much. So, there’s been some back and forth,” Fowler claimed Kraft had said publicly. While the Witherspoon new deal creates some urgency, the cornerback may take longer to agree to a new contract. Last season, the former first-round pick finished the 2025 campaign with 69 total tackles (54 solo, 15 assists), 10 passes defensed, and earned his first career Pro Bowl selection. Entering the final year of his contract, the Patriots exercised his fifth-year option, which locks him through the 2027 season. NFL Rumors: $15M Patriots Star May Seek Trade Request After Bombshell Remark What’s Next After Witherspoon’s deal, there hasn’t been much progress in contract negotiations between the Patriots and Gonzalez. Kraft’s comments sparked a fire in the cornerback, stating it’s not a ‘lack’ of trying: “We love Christian Gonzalez,” Kraft told reporters last month. “We love him as a player, as a person, and that’s why we’ve made an offer to him to make him the highest-paid player to ever play that position in the NFL. And coincidentally, it is the highest contract in Patriots franchise history. So we’re glad we drafted him, he’s developed here, and we hope he’ll be with us for a long time.” With the cornerback still without a new contract before Week 1, things could become intense. There’s a chance the Patriots CB may seek a trade. Click the next pages for the best landing spots for the cornerback if a trade request happens: