FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Christian Gonzalez wanted to play in the New England Patriots' loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers last week.

After being held out by coach Mike Vrabel, Gonzalez appears to be on track to make his season debut this week against Carolina.

The cornerback practiced in only a limited basis prior to the Pittsburgh game, but Vrabel said Wednesday that the plan this week is to ramp up Gonzalez's participation with the goal of him being active Sunday versus the Panthers.

“Yeah, I think that's the plan,” Vrabel said. “I'm excited about his efforts and willingness to get back and work hard in practice last week. I made a decision at the end of the week that he just needed a little bit more time. ... Hopefully he'll be ready to go.”

Gonzalez, who practiced for the first t

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