“We’re going to call our defense and play football,” Williams explained. “I mean, that’s what this league’s about.

“I’ve been in this league awhile, and we’ve had guys that we thought we were going to play and didn’t play on game day. It comes right up to the last minute before you put the inactives in. [And] we’ve still got a little bit of time before we play.”

The 23-year-old Gonzalez, who was a second-team All-Pro last year and the Patriots’ most talented defensive player, hasn’t practiced since the last week of July. In his place, the Patriots have leaned heavily on veteran free-agency pickup Carlton Davis on one side, while Alex Austin or D.J. James has been on the other.

“We feel pretty good about our secondary, and really our whole defense,” Williams said. “The guys have been working hard and doing the things that we need to do to try to win a football game on Sunday. Ultimately, that’s what it’s about.”

Davis, who acknowledged last month he’s been dealing with health issues of his own, said the fact the Raiders have so many different faces — including veteran offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, who’s in his first season with Las Vegas — creates a significant amount of uncertainty.

“They’ve got a whole new system, so I don’t think too many people know exactly what they’re going to do,” said Davis, who signed a three-year, $60 million contract with New England in the offseason. “There’s kind of [an] idea, but who knows what they’re doing? They don’t have a concept of what Chip Kelly’s been doing in previous places.

“But we do know they have some speed on the outside, and that [quarterback] Geno [Smith] loves to challenge you down the field. He’s a quarterback who’s confident in his arm. So I would imagine that they try to get their guys some plays.”

There is some level of comfortability with several members of the Raiders’ offensive scheme. They’ve faced Kelly’s high-octane offense before in his previous NFL stops, as well as Smith, a veteran quarterback in his first year with the Raiders who’s faced New England many times in the past. There’s also some familiarity with Jakobi Meyers, a former Patriots who spent four seasons in New England before leaving as a free agent.

One of the real unknowns is tight end Brock Bowers, a pass catcher Williams calls “a receiver in a tight ends body.” The 6-foot-3-inch, 235-pounder is coming off a rookie year where he finished with 112 catches for 1,194 yards and five touchdowns.

“He can catch the ball, he can block, he can make contested catches,” said Williams, who wouldn’t dismiss the idea of using a cornerback against him. “He can do everything.”

One of the things the 24-year-old Austin has done is go back and watch some of Kelly’s work as head coach with the Eagles and Niners. There’s also some personal Pac-12 history between the two, as Kelly was the head coach at UCLA while Austin was with Oregon State.

“We’ve just been watching a lot of old Chip Kelly film,” said the 6-foot-1-inch, 191-pound Austin. “Me, fortunately, I played him before in college so I’m a little bit familiar with his scheme. But I’m still watching a lot of his old tape from around the league, and then in college as well.”

Head coach Mike Vrabel wouldn’t put a potential timetable on a Gonzalez return, which means the Patriots’ cornerback depth figures to be tested in multiple games out of the gate. Regardless of who is out there, everyone seems to feel good about the depth in the cornerback room.

“Whoever is going to play is going to keep the standard,” Davis said when asked about Sunday’s opener. “That’s why they’re here. That’s why they made the 53-man roster.”

“We feel great with the depth in our room,” said Austin. “We’ve got a lot of guys who can go. Whoever the coaches feel comfortable with going out there as the next man up, we know that they’re going to be ready and, and hold the standard to the standard. So we just look forward to going out there and competing this weekend.”

Others on the injury report

In addition to Gonzlaez, the Patriots had four other players on the injury report Thursday: offensive tackle Will Campbell (ankle) and defensive tackle Christian Barmore (not injury related) were listed as limited. In addition, wide receiver Efton Chism (knee) and cornerback Charles Woods (groin) were full participants … As for the Raiders, they listed cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly (hamstring) and quarterback Kenny Pickett (hamstring) as full participants.

Christopher Price can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky at christopherprice.bsky.social.