When will Christian Gonzalez finally make his 2025 debut -- and why is his rehab taking so long?

Both questions have persisted over the last two-plus months as the New England Patriots' star cornerback recovers from a hamstring injury he suffered on July 28 . And they're not without merit, especially since initial reports suggested Gonzalez would only miss a few weeks and be ready for the season opener.

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Instead, Gonzalez missed 51 days of practice in addition to the first two games of the season, and his status for New England's Week 3 matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers is still unclear after he was a limited participant in Wednesday's and Thursday's practices.

What's more, Mike Vrabel and the Patriots (

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