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Christian Barmore

Patriots Place Christian Barmore On NFI List

December 19th, 2024 at 2:46pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Patriots are placing defensive tackle Christian Barmore on the non-football illness list, according to a team announcement, ending his 2024 season.

The team released a statement explaining that Barmore “experienced some recurring symptoms that required further evaluation.”

Barmore was diagnosed with blood clots during training camp, forcing him onto the NFI list and putting his availability for the season in question. Optimism grew throughout the season, ultimately leading to Barmore’s return to practice on November 15 and activation to the 53-man roster shortly thereafter.

Barmore has appeared in the Patriots’ last four games – all losses – with six tackles (one for loss) and a sack. No one was expecting him to return to his 2023 form, which included a career-high 8.5 sacks, six pass deflections, 64 total tackles, and 13 tackles for loss, but even playing this year is impressive after facing a life-threatening health condition.

The Patriots signed Barmore to a four-year, $84MM extension in April, a deal that was viewed as team-friendly at the time. However, it secured the young defender’s financial future before his medical complications arose. Both sides will be hoping that Barmore can get the necessary treatment and make a full recovery in time to play in 2025.

Patriots Activate DL Christian Barmore

November 16th, 2024 at 10:02pm CST by Ben Levine

The Patriots will welcome back one of their defensive leaders for Week 11. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the team is activating defensive lineman Christian Barmore off the non-football illness list. Barmore is expected to play tomorrow.

[RELATED: Pats’ Christian Barmore Returns To Practice]

The 25-year-old was sidelined indefinitely after being diagnosed with blood clots in late July. He was subsequently placed on NFI, and the seriousness of Barmore’s diagnosis led to speculation that he could be out for the entire 2024 season.

Fortunately, things seemed to be trending in the right direction for the former second-round pick, as the organization expressed continued optimism surrounding his recovery. The organization all but confirmed Barmore’s impending return when they welcomed him back to practice earlier this week. There was some initial skepticism surrounding the DL’s Week 11 availability after he missed yesterday’s practice, but it sounds like he’ll be ready to make his season debut tomorrow.

After showing flashes through his first two seasons in the NFL, Barmore seemed to put it all together in 2023. The defensive lineman established new career-highs in sacks (8.5), tackles (64), pressures (19), and tackles for loss (13). With Barmore eyeing the final season of his rookie pact in 2024, the Patriots eagerly handed him a a four-year, $84MM extension this past spring.

The Patriots’ pass rush and run defense haven’t been completely helpless in 2024, but Barmore should still help to improve those middle-of-the-road units. While New England doesn’t have a whole lot to play for down the stretch, the organization would gladly take continued development from Barmore as they head towards the offseason.

Pats’ Christian Barmore Returns To Practice

November 15th, 2024 at 9:45am CST by Adam La Rose

NOVEMBER 15: Mayo left the door open to Barmore playing in Week 11 on a limited basis (video link via Reiss). A meeting will take place later today with doctors to determine if he gets the green light to return to game action immediately after practicing. In any event, Barmore should be in the lineup relatively soon.

NOVEMBER 14: Christian Barmore has been out of the lineup for the 2024 season while dealing with blood clots. Not long after Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo gave an encouraging update on his status, the fourth-year defensive tackle is positioned to resume on-field work.

Barmore is expected to practice today, as first reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Mayo indicated such a development could be possible in the near future yesterday, so it comes as little surprise a return to the field is forthcoming. Getting Barmore back in the fold at any point this campaign would be crucial for New England’s defensive front. Barmore has since returned to the field, as ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss confirms.

The 25-year-old was diagnosed with blood clots in late July, leaving him sidelined as his attention turned to recovery. Without a firm timeline in place, the possibility existed that Barmore would be out for the entire season, although today’s news is a strong sign that will not be the case. He remains on the reserve/non-football injury list at this time, and suiting up for practice would open his 21-day activation window. Being moved onto the active roster within that span would allow Barmore to play this season.

The former second-rounder landed a four-year, $84MM extension this spring to avoid the 2024 campaign becoming a potential walk year. The blood clot diagnosis marked an unwanted turn for team and player, of course, but the size of that investment illustrates Barmore’s importance to the Patriots’ defense. He took a major step forward in the pass-rush department last year, setting a career high with 8.5 sacks. Barmore’s 64 tackles, 19 pressures, 13 tackles for loss and six pass deflections that year also marked a personal high.

In his absence, the Patriots have allowed just under 131 rushing yards per game; that ranks 23rd in the league. Improvement in that regard would be key in continuing the team’s momentum from winning two of its last three games. Barmore managing to reprise his role as a key pass-rushing figure along the interior would also give New England’s defense a notable boost.

Sitting at 3-7 on the year, the Patriots face a long road to playoff contention. Regardless of how the rest of the campaign plays out, though, getting Barmore back on the field for any stretch would be a signficant positive.

NFL Injury Updates: Hurts, Coleman, Barmore

November 8th, 2024 at 10:00pm CST by Ely Allen

An interesting situation played out today when Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni seemed to let something inadvertently slip during his press conference. Sirianni claimed that quarterback Jalen Hurts has been limited in practice as he has been “dealing with the ankle.” This would be of no consequence, if Hurts hadn’t been listed on the injury report with a “rest” designation, per ESPN’s Tim McManus.

Per McManus, two different sources claimed that “Hurts has been dealing with a mild ankle issue for a couple weeks” and that he is dealing with “lower leg soreness.” Hurts was reportedly limited in practice on Wednesday for “load management” purposes, requiring that he be on the injury report. When asked, Hurts told the media that he just does what he’s told and was told a rest day was in the cards this week.

After two days of full participation, Hurts’ availability shouldn’t really be in question this weekend. It will be interesting, though, to see if the league follows up with an investigation on a potential injury reporting violation by the Eagles.

Here are a few other injury updates from around the NFL:

  • Bills rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman has already been ruled out for this week after sitting out the entire week of practice. When his status for the week was still up in the air, though, head coach Sean McDermott claimed that, while they were taking it “one day at a time,” there was potential that he could be out for “more than just this week,” according to Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic. ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg followed up with a report from McDermott this morning in which he speculated that Coleman would “probably miss multiple weeks with his wrist injury.” The good news is that McDermott clarified that Coleman would avoid injured reserve, accounting for the fact that the rookie should be back within four weeks.
  • The Patriots have yet to see defensive tackle Christian Barmore in the 2024 season after the 25-year-old was diagnosed with blood clots in late-July. When the regular season was approaching, the team began preparing for a full-season absence from their blossoming interior defender, but according to Mike Giardi of the Boston Sports Journal, Barmore more may yet play in 2024. Head coach Jerod Mayo told the media that “we’re getting close” to a possible return to practice for Barmore earlier this week. While nothing is set in stone with that statement, it’s an encouraging sign for a young player dealing with one of the sport’s scarier diagnoses.

Patriots Notes: Belichick, Barmore, OL Changes, QB, Osborn

October 23rd, 2024 at 6:20pm CST by Ben Levine

When the Patriots parted ways with Bill Belichick following the 2023 campaign, the divorce was described as an “amicable” and “mutual” decision. However, during a recent appearance on The Breakfast Club podcast, owner Robert Kraft made it pretty clear that it was his decision to move on from the iconic head coach.

“I kept him for 24 years,” Kraft said (via Khari Thompson of The Boston Globe). “I didn’t enjoy having to fire him, but I tried to do it – if you look at the press conference and how it happened, tried to do it in a classy way.”

“What he did for us was great. People need to adapt. People need to adapt and if they don’t, things can change. In life, it’s about getting good chemistry and trust and I feel that our record the last three or four years wasn’t what I wanted.”

Belichick generally drew much of the blame for the organization’s post-Tom Brady decline. The team didn’t bottom out right away; in fact, they won 10 games and made the postseason with a rookie Mac Jones during the 2021 campaign. However, following a 4-13 showing in 2023 (the team’s worst showing since 1992), Kraft decided to make Belichick the scapegoat and move on from the franchise stalwart.

With Belichick now hitting the media circuit, the former coach has generally been pretty reserved when discussing his former club. That changed this past week, when Belichick appeared on Jim Gray’s Let’s Go! podcast alongside Brady. The future Hall of Fame coach was especially critical of new head coach Jerod Mayo‘s assertion that his 1-6 squad was “soft,” and Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald wonders if Belichick may be changing his tune following Kraft’s aforementioned quotes.

More notes out of New England…

  • After Christian Barmore was diagnosed with blood clots in July, the Patriots had been bracing for a potential full-season absence for the starting defensive lineman. Fortunately, there may be some good news on that front, with Mayo telling reporters that the former second-round pick was “progressing” in his recovery (via Kyed). Mayo even admitted that he’s changed his stance on Barmore’s 2024 availability, with the head coach stating that the DT could end up seeing the field at some point this season.
  • Michael Onwenu started the season as the Patriots right tackle but has seen an uptick in playing time at right guard in recent weeks. Offensive line coach Scott
    Peters said he hopes the change is permanent, although the former sixth-round pick’s position will continue to be dependent on his teammates’ availability (per ESPN’s Mike Reiss). The team is bracing for another position change on their OL, as former first-round guard Cole Strange could see snaps at center when he’s activated from PUP (via Kyed). The lineman has missed the entire 2024 season while recovering from a knee injury.
  • While the Patriots always seemed to hint that Drake Maye would eventually take over for veteran seat warmer Jacoby Brissett, the staff hastily made the change ahead of the team’s Week 6 contest. Brissett told reporters that he wasn’t told of the team’s definitive 2024 plans at the position (via Kyed), although he did seem to hint that he knew he’d eventually hit the bench for his rookie teammate. Brissett tossed a pair of touchdowns in his five starts, while Maye has already found the end zone five times in two starts.
  • Mayo admitted to reporters that offseason acquisition K.J. Osborn was likely frustrated with his role in New England, per Mike Giardi of the Boston Sports Journal. The former Vikings draft pick led the position in snaps for the first four weeks of the season, but after returning in Week 7 following a two-game absence, the veteran found himself behind all of Kayshon Boutte, Kendrick Bourne, and Ja’Lynn Polk (Osborn had two more snaps than fellow wideout Demario Douglas). In five games this season, Osborn has hauled in seven catches for 57 yards and one touchdown.

Patriots Injury Updates: Ximines, Barmore, Strange

September 29th, 2024 at 9:59pm CST by Ely Allen

The Patriots started the season with a crowded injured list. In addition to seven players on injured reserve, New England has one player on the reserve/non-football injury list and three players on the reserve/physically unable to perform list. Here are some updates on three of those eleven players, via ESPN’s Mike Reiss.

Oshane Ximines didn’t start the season on injured reserve, but due to an injury suffered on punt coverage in Week 2, he has found his way there. Ximines, a reserve outside linebacker and key special teamer, is in his first year with the Patriots after five seasons with the Giants.

A former third-round pick out of Old Dominion, Ximines flashed potential in his rookie season with sack (4.5), tackle for loss (5), and quarterback hit (9) numbers that have stood to this point as career highs. Since then, his role has varied greatly from year to year. Fellow New England defender Jonathan Jones predicted a big season for Ximines in 2024, but a torn ACL has put that prediction to bed as the 27-year-old will miss the remainder of the season.

Another injured defender is defensive lineman Christian Barmore, the sole player on the NFI list. Barmore has been on the injured list since being diagnosed with blood clots in July. The team has braced for a potential full-season absence for Barmore, and there doesn’t seem to be any improvement on that prognosis. While Barmore has been spending more time around the team as of late, he hasn’t been cleared by doctors and likely won’t be any time soon.

Lastly, usual starting guard Cole Strange started the season on PUP after tearing the patellar tendon in his left knee in December last year. Around the NFL, players on NFI, PUP, and IR-designated to return lists will be eligible to start practicing. While the other two players on PUP — wide receiver Kendrick Bourne and linebacker Sione Takitaki — and the lone IR-designated to return player — safety Marte Mapu — are likely to begin their practice periods this week, Reiss does not believe Strange is ready to take that step quite yet.

Patriots Bracing For Full-Season Christian Barmore Absence

September 5th, 2024 at 9:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

Christian Barmore has been out of the mix for the Patriots since late July, when it became known the ascending defensive tackle had been dealing with blood clots. Barmore is now on New England’s reserve/non-football illness list, and it does not sound like the team is expecting him back anytime soon.

The Patriots are bracing for Barmore to miss the entire 2024 season, according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler. Viewing the recently extended defensive tackle as a building-block player, the Pats intend to be cautious here. They will not rush Barmore back. Given the Patriots’ big-picture situation and one example from the recent past, it might surprise if Barmore played again before the 2025 season.

[RELATED: Offseason In Review: New England Patriots]

New England’s spree of extensions and re-signings notwithstanding, this is not viewed as a contending roster. In addition to campaigning in a difficult division placed in what still looks like the tougher of the two conferences, the Patriots are not yet turning to Drake Maye at quarterback. Jacoby Brissett is starting the season, giving off a placeholder vibe while the team grapples with a shaky offensive line. Barmore not playing in 2024 also stands to strengthen the Patriots’ chances of securing a pick near the top of the 2025 draft.

A Patriots squad with much loftier ambitions dealt with a similar situation as well. David Andrews missed the entire 2019 season due to blood clots. The veteran center needed to be hospitalized because of the issue in late August of 2019. Andrews missed the Pats’ most recent Super Bowl title-defense season and was not cleared to resume his career until early May 2020. No two cases are alike, of course, but the organization — as its Tom Brady heyday wound down — saw a key starter miss a full season after receiving a similar diagnosis to the one Barmore heard this summer.

Prior to this concerning issue surfacing, Barmore proved himself to be an impact inside pass rusher. With Matt Judon down for most of last season, Barmore led the Patriots with 8.5 sacks. This came on only six starts. The former second-round pick then signed a four-year, $84MM extension — a move that impacted the futures of Judon and Davon Godchaux this offseason — that ties him to the Pats through 2028.

Beyond Godchaux, however, the Patriots are light sans Barmore at D-tackle. Jeremiah Pharms, Daniel Ekuale and Eric Johnson round out New England’s DT depth chart. Pharms is a 2023 UDFA who played 90 defensive snaps as a rookie; a fifth-round Colts draftee in 2022 whom the Pats claimed on waivers, Johnson has no career starts. The most experienced non-Godchaux option as a five-year veteran, Ekuale made his last start in 2020.

AFC East Notes: Reddick, Jets, Corley, Barmore, Patriots, Godchaux, Farley, Bills

September 3rd, 2024 at 9:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

The 49ers and Cowboys ended their holdouts recently, but the Jets‘ impasse persists. Robert Saleh has not made any recent contact with defensive end Haason Reddick. The fourth-year Jets HC confirmed he has not spoken to the team’s holdout edge rusher since before training camp. As one source informed veteran reporter Josina Anderson, “nothing has changed” in this standoff. Reddick is on the verge of missing out on an $838K came check. The trade acquisition has already cost himself more than $2MM in nonwaivable fines thanks to this holdout.

Having expected the Jets to revisit extension talks only to see the team balk at doing so, Reddick has not been seen in the building since his introductory news conference April 1. Reddick has requested a trade, and rumblings about him extending the holdout into the season have surfaced. The Jets, who have been linked to being open to sweetening Reddick’s Eagles-constructed deal rather than extending him in advance, are certainly short on time to integrate him into their defense before the 49ers opener.

Here is the latest from the AFC East:

  • Malachi Corley competed for the Jets’ slot receiver role in training camp, but the rookie third-rounder might be trending toward healthy-scratch status to begin his career. Xavier Gipson is expected to be the Jets’ slot receiver, and the New York Post’s Brian Costello does not see a path for Corley to be on the 48-man gameday roster Monday. Viewing the Western Kentucky alum as a long way away from being an offensive regular, Costello notes the rookie’s lack of a special teams role hurts his chances of suiting up early.
  • The Jets also created some cap space recently, adjusting Quincy Williams and Tyler Conklin‘s deals. The move created $8MM in cap space for the team, ESPN.com’s Field Yates tweets. These moves will inflate the Jets’ cap-space total past $18MM.
  • While Christian Barmore is on the Patriots‘ reserve/NFI list, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport confirms the team will continue to pay him his full salary. Considering Barmore is dealing with a blood clot issue, the Pats not paying him would have generated extensive backlash. Barmore signed a four-year, $84MM extension this offseason and already collected an $18MM signing bonus. Common with extensions, Barmore’s base salary is low ($1.82MM) in Year 1.
  • The Pats giving Barmore the $21MM-per-year extension affected Matt Judon‘s New England outlook, and SI.com’s Albert Breer notes it changed the equation for Davon Godchaux as well. Godchaux’s push for a raise intensified after the Pats paid Barmore. The veteran nose tackle held in during minicamp and expressed a desire for a new deal to open training camp. Paying numerous Bill Belichick-era pieces, New England’s Eliot Wolf-led front office agreed to terms with Godchaux on a two-year, $16.5MM deal soon after.
  • Caleb Farley struggled to stay healthy with the Titans and has not seen game action since November 2022. The 2021 first-round pick, whom the Titans waived last week, also missed camp time with a hamstring injury. The malady-prone cornerback auditioned for the Patriots on Tuesday, Yates tweets. Farley, 25, has two ACL tears and three back surgeries on his medical sheet since college.
  • The Bills also completed some minor restructures recently, with Yates noting the team adjusting DaQuan Jones and A.J. Epenesa‘s deals. Both D-linemen re-signed with Buffalo this offseason. The moves created $2.78MM in cap space.
  • After the Vikings cut running back/kick returner Kene Nwangwu, the Saints made a waiver claim but also moved on with a failed physical designation, the Jets checked in on him. Nwangwu visited the Jets on Monday, per KTSP’s Darren Wolfson. Nwangwu has three career kick-return TDs on his resume, each coming from 2021-22.

Patriots Set 53-Man Roster

August 27th, 2024 at 9:19pm CST by Ben Levine

The Patriots have set their first 53-man roster in a post-Bill Belichick era. The team announced the following moves:

Released:

Placed on reserve/PUP list:

Placed on reserve/NFI list:

Placed on IR:

Atonio Mafi was a fifth-round pick by the Patriots just last year, and he ended up starting five of his 17 appearances as a rookie. It wasn’t pretty for the UCLA alumni, as Pro Football Focus ultimately graded Mafi as the second-worst qualifying guard in the NFL (among 79 qualifying players).

Kevin Harris was a sixth-round pick by New England in 2022, but the running back struggled to carve out a role through his two seasons with the squad. The South Carolina product was ultimately limited to nine appearances (one start), collecting 175 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns.

Latest On Christian Barmore, Patriots’ DT Plans

August 25th, 2024 at 11:16am CST by Rory Parks

A frightening report from late last month noted that Patriots DT Christian Barmore was diagnosed with blood clots. At the time, it was too early to speculate on his NFL future, but we now have some additional information to pass along.

This year, up to two players that are placed on injured reserve on cutdown day can be activated during the season (previously, a player had to be on the 53-man roster on cutdown day and then placed on IR in order to be eligible for activation, which led to a significant amount of seemingly needless roster machinations). According to Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald, Barmore is one of New England’s top candidates to benefit from the new rule (safety Marte Mapu is the other player that Kyed names).

In other words, there is a chance that Barmore will play this season. As Kyed notes, the 25-year-old defender has not yet been placed on a season-ending reserve list, so the Pats are at least holding out hope for a 2024 return.

That would obviously represent a key development for the club’s defense. In his 2023 breakout, Barmore logged a 66% snap share and recorded career highs in sacks (8.5), total tackles (64), tackles for loss (13), quarterback hits (16), pass deflections (six), and forced fumbles (one). The advanced metrics supported that surface-level production, with Pro Football Focus ranking Barmore as the eighth-best interior defender in the NFL.

On the strength of that performance, the 2021 second-rounder became one of a number of Patriots to land an extension from the club’s new regime, inking a four-year deal worth up to $92MM in April. Clearly, New England saw Barmore’s 2023 effort as a sign of things to come and not a one-year blip.

While the Pats await Barmore’s return, they will turn to Daniel Ekuale as his primary replacement, as Kyed writes. While Ekuale has been utilized primarily on passing downs since coming to Foxborough in 2021, he has the size (6-3, 310) to operate as a three-technique defensive tackle.

Like Ekuale, the similarly-sized Trysten Hill has quietly had a strong camp, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss. Nonetheless, Reiss expects the club to trawl the waiver wire for a run-stuffing DT – and additional offensive line help – when teams across the league make their final cutdowns this week (that is especially true since free agent pickup Armon Watts has failed to impress). New England has No. 3 waiver priority so should have an opportunity to claim some of the more intriguing cuts from rival clubs.

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