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The New England Patriots saw some impressive performances across the board during their 2025 season, but cornerback might have been the best position from top to bottom. Led by standout Christian Gonzalez, the group played some high-level football and helped solidify a defensive unit that saw substantial turnover in both personnel and scheme.
Looking ahead to 2026, little is expected to change; with Gonzalez and fellow starters Carlton Davis and Marcus Jones all under contract, a repeat outing could very well be in the cards. That does not mean there are no questions about the group as a whole, though.
Patriots cornerback depth chart
Christian Gonzalez: Even though he started the season delayed because of a hamstring injury, Gonzalez showed in 2025 why he is among of the elite cornerbacks in the NFL. Regularly going up against opponents’ top wide receivers, he allowed only 43.4% of passes thrown his way to be completed and gave up only one touchdown all year; he also registered a pivotal interception in the AFC Championship Game — all while playing in a new-look system that emphasized more zone coverage than he was used to. The 23-year-old Pro Bowl selection was at his best in the Super Bowl, where he played at an MVP-caliber level and was a main reason why Seattle did not run away with the game in the first three quarters. | Signed (2027 UFA) | $4.81M cap hit
Carlton Davis III: The Patriots paid top dollar to bring Davis in as a starting outside cornerback opposite Gonzalez, and he performed at a high level throughout the season. Starting all 21 games and leading the position group in snaps (1,168), he was not quite the shutdown cornerback as his young teammate, but provided quality play and leadership throughout the year. Opposing quarterbacks completed 59.1% of passes thrown his way and scored four touchdowns on him, but he also intercepted a pair of passes. Penalties were a problem — he led the league with nine pass interference calls and tied the NFL-lead with 13 accepted penalties overall — but all in all his first season in New England was a success. | Signed (2028 UFA) | $22M cap hit
Marcus Jones: Jones entered 2025 with questions about his fit in the Patriots’ new-look system, and he ended up playing the best football of his career. The numbers may not support that argument — he gave up completions on 74.4% of targets and surrendered a team-worst eight touchdowns — but he also is playing a notoriously challenging position and ended up a major playmaker who intercepted four passes, including two returned four touchdowns, and recovered a fumble (he also forced another). Add the fact that he was named a team captain for the first time, signed a three-year, $36 million extension in-season, and continued to be one of the top punt returners in the game as well as a second-team All-Pro selection at the spot, and you get a building-block-type player. | Signed (2029 UFA) | $6.7M cap hit
Charles Woods: With Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis and Marcus Jones hoarding snaps atop the cornerback depth chart, the other players on the roster were mostly relegated to spot and emergency duty. Tops among them was Charles Woods, who joined as a late-August waiver claim and ended up playing the fourth-most snaps at CB with 153. In addition, he was a regular on special teams and extensively used on kickoff coverage and punt return. | Signed (2027 RFA) | $1.08M cap hit
Alex Austin: The Patriots retained Austin as an exclusive rights free agent in the offseason, but he went on to have a challenging 2025 campaign. He saw considerable action early on in the season, but eventually lost the CB4 spot to Charles Woods. As a result of this change in pecking order and a subsequent wrist injury that cost him five games, he did not take a single defensive snap from Week 5 on. He was actively involved on special teams, though, seeing snaps on four units. | RFA
Kobee Minor: The final selection of the 2025 NFL Draft, Minor was the only Patriots pick not to make the initial 53-man roster. However, he was signed to the practice squad right after his late-August release and remained there until getting promoted in early January. He ended the season with five in-game appearances — none over the final three playoff contests — and a combined 39 snaps on defense and 28 on special teams. | Signed (2027 ERFA) | $1.01M cap hit
Marcellas Dial Jr.: After seeing action in all 17 games as a rookie, Dial Jr’s season came to an end in early August. He suffered a torn ACL in training camp and was placed on season-ending injured reserve shortly thereafter. | Signed (2028 UFA) | $1.13M cap hit
Brandon Crossley: An undrafted rookie free agent, Crossley spent the 2025 season on and off the Patriots’ practice squad without appearing in any games. He was not with the team during its playoff run but signed a one-year futures deal in mid-February. | Signed (2027 ERFA) | $885k cap hit
Patriots offseason preview
The Patriots’ cornerback group was one of the best in football last season, and it again projects to be a strength heading into 2026. That said, there are some questions that need to be answered, starting with the biggest.
Will Christian Gonzalez be extended?
Entering the final year of his rookie contract, the Pro Bowler is a realistic candidate to reset the cornerback market in the near future. There appears to be motivation from both sides to get a deal done, but for now nothing has materialized.
There is still time, though: with the fifth-year option at the Patriots’ disposal, they can continue working on a pact but easily tie Gonzalez to the organization through 2027 if no agreement is struck by the May 1 deadline. Obviously, even if the $18.119 million option is exercised, the two parties can continue working on an extension.
Besides Gonzalez, the biggest uncertainties at cornerback are the depth and long-term outlook. Will the Patriots be looking for an upgrade over Charles Woods and Alex Austin? Will the latter even be retained in the first place? And could a potential replacement for Carlton Davis come aboard via the draft?