Friday, ahead of the final official injury report, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel announced that top cornerback Christian Gonzalez will miss Sunday’s season-opener against the Raiders with a hamstring injury.
Gonzalez is a big loss for the Patriots. The third year cornerback started 16 games last season, earning second team All Pro honors as well as being a nominee for the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year award.
Vrabel added that Alex Austin would start in Gonzalez’s place. Austin is a third-year former seventh round pick out of Oregon State. He’s appeared in 17 career games with four starts including three last season.
Also expected to see some increased snaps at cornerback will be Marcus Jones, a former third round pick who started nine games last season for the Patriots.
As it happens, the Raiders also lost a wide receiver this week. Amari Cooper announced he was retiring, leaving the team without what was expected to be a big piece to their wide receiver corps this season.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Patriots will be without top CB Christian Gonzalez Week 1 vs Raiders
