New NFL Rumors on Christian Gonzalez, Devon Witherspoon's Contract Talks With Patriots, Seahawks

Star cornerbacks Christian Gonzalez and Devon Witherspoon remain far from finalizing extensions with their respective teams, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Saturday.

According to Rapoport, Gonzalez is in talks with the New England Patriots for a contract expected to make him the NFL's highest-paid cornerback.

Rapoport added the talks "don't seem to me like they have advanced that far."

"The hope is at some point to get a new deal, but as of right now it's unclear whether or not that will actually happen," Rapoport said about Gonzalez. "Wouldn't be surprised, for instance, if he ended up waiting until next year."

Rapoport previously reported in late July the Seattle Seahawks and Witherspoon had been in "intense negotiations for the last several months" over a deal with a benchmark of $32 million per year.

He said Saturday "it doesn't seem to be anything is imminent or close right now" in terms of the Seahawks finalizing a deal for Witherspoon.

Rapoport said he feels Witherspoon wants to be "far clear of the highest-paid" cornerback in the NFL.

He cited running back Bijan Robinson's recent deal with the Atlanta Falcons, which included $1.65 million more in annual salary over Saquon Barkley's previous top-of-the-market contract, as an example of where Witherspoon would like to be in his own positional market.

"The communication has been good, the dialogue has been good. They are just not there yet, and they're going to keep talking right until the start of the season," Rapoport said about the Seahawks and Witherspoon.

Rapoport's report comes after CLNS' Mike Giardi reported Gonzalez wants to earn "a lot" more than Witherspoon on his next contract.

As of July, Witherspoon was "further along" in contract talks than Gonzalez, according to Rapoport.

Rapoport's latest report comes after the first episode of this summer's Hard Knocks series featuring the Seahawks showed general manager John Schneider and Witherspoon discussing ongoing negotiations.

The cornerback market is currently led in terms of annual average salary by the Cleveland Browns' Denzel Ward, who signed a two-year extension worth $31.1 million per year earlier this offseason.

The Los Angeles Rams' Trent McDuffie holds the positional lead in total guaranteed money after signing a four-year, $124 million extension with $100 million guaranteed in March.

Gonzalez and Witherspoon were selected in the first round of the 2023 draft. Both are currently signed through 2027 after having their fifth-year club options activated on their rookie contracts, and both are represented by the same agency.

The good news for the Patriots and Seahawks is that both star cornerbacks have been full participants in their respective training camps so far this offseason. Both teams will hope to keep their star cornerbacks in action while still continuing negotiations ahead of September's regular-season start.