Christian Gonzalez has been ruled out for Sunday's New England Patriots opener against the Las Vegas Raiders at Gillette Stadium. Head coach Mike Vrabel broke the news on his star cornerback Friday afternoon during his chat with reporters in Foxboro.

Vrabel was asked for an update on the status of Gonzalez, who hasn't practice in over a month since leaving the team's first padded practice of training camp with a hamstring injury. His update was a quick one.

"Out," Vrabel fired off. "Anyone else?"

Well, yes. How about rookie left tackle Will Campbell, who popped up on Thursday's injury report as a limited participant with an ankle injury and was limited again Friday?

"Questionable," said Vrabel.

Thus ended the medical portion of Vrabel's first Friday press conference as head coach of the New England Patriots. Campbell's status is definitely one we'll be monitoring Sunday morning, as he's set to start at left tackle and protect Drake Maye's blind side against Maxx Crosby and the Las Vegas pass rush. We'll know if he'll suit up Sunday around 11:30 a.m. when the team announces its inactives for Week 1.

In addition to Campbell, Patriots depth corner Charles Woods is also questionable with a groin injury, though he practiced in full Friday. 

Defensive tackle Christian Barmore and wide receiver Efton Chism were both removed from the injury list on Friday. Barmore was limited Thursday and Friday for non-injury related reasons, while Chism was a full participant all week despite a knee injury. Both are good to go for Sunday.

Who steps up for the Patriots in place of Christian Gonzalez?

The Patriots defense is expected to be a good one in 2025, potentially a Top 10 unit in the NFL. But not having their No. 1 is a big hit to start the season.

The Raiders come in with a veteran quarterback in Geno Smith, and he'll definitely look to attack New England's secondary on Sunday. With Gonzalez out, the Patriots won't have their 1-2 punch of Gonzalez and veteran Carlton Davis at corner.

Who steps up? Alex Austin, come on down!

Austin -- nicknamed Double-A by the Pats coaching staff -- is heading into his third year with the team. He's played in 14 games over his two seasons with New England, including three starts last season. He has an interception and seven passes defended in a Pats uniform.

Gonzalez's nearly camp-long absence led to a lot of first-team reps for Austin, so he should be prepared to start Sunday. He'll have a chance to shine against a Raiders offense that has an incredibly talented tight end in Brock Bowers and a receiver who can catch a lot of passes in Jakobi Meyers. 

Marcus Jones will play slot corner for New England, but he could potentially see some time on the outside Sunday. Second-year corner D.J. James is also in the mix to play on the outside after he made the team with an impressive training camp. 

At safety, the Patriots are expected to start five-year veteran Jaylinn Hawkins and rookie Craig Woodson. 

Tune in to New England's Week 1 clash with the Las Vegas Raiders on WBZ-TV -- the television home of the New England Patriots! Pregame coverage kicks off at 11:30 a.m. with Patriots GameDay, the Pats and the Raiders go at it at 1 p.m., and we'll wrap it all up on Patriots 5th Quarter on TV38 after the game.