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FOXBOROUGH – Patriots coaches didn’t want Christian Barmore to get frustrated.
After missing a chunk of the 2024 season due to a blood clot diagnosis, Barmore had a different routine last season. The defensive tackle played in every game for the Patriots, but due to his medical condition, wasn’t always allowed to practice.
As Barmore finished out the season, the talented defensive tackle’s numbers weren’t where they had been pre-injury. The 26-year-old finished with two sacks and 11 quarterback hits in 2025.
In 2023, Barmore recorded 8.5 sacks to go with 13 quarterback hits. Despite the dip in numbers, his coaches made sure to remind him just how important he was to the team’s success.
That’s why his position coach, Clint McMillan, told Barmore the team wouldn’t have made it to the Super Bowl without him.
“I always wanted to relay the message and focus on what you can do. Don’t worry about the things that may be limited,” McMillan said at last week’s minicamp. “And I think throughout the course of the year he had massive improvement and was a huge part of us playing good defense. And I tell him all the time, like, we would not have ended up where we were if you didn’t play well. So excited for him to get a full offseason and excited to get the second year with him.”
After his breakout 2023 season, Barmore inked a massive four-year, $92 million extension. However, next summer, it was discovered that he had blood clots in his lungs. That limited him to four games in 2024 before he was placed back on the reserve/non-football injury list due to “recurring symptoms.”
Last season, Barmore was frequently a limited practice participant. This was part of a plan that Patriots medical staff put in place as Barmore’s doctors prescribed him a blood thinner, Eliquis, to prevent future blood clots.
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Last week, Barmore said he’s willing to do whatever the team medical staff wants.
“Really just whatever they want me to do. I’m out here to work,” Barmore said. “Every time I’m out here, it’s about the grind. With the training camp, I got to do what I got to do. I’ll be out here all the time, all I need to be. So it doesn’t matter. Let’s get it.”
Barmore was part of a dynamic 1-2 combo with fellow defensive tackle Milton Williams. The pairing made it tough on opposing offensive lines. Looking ahead to this season, Mike Vrabel said Barmore should be better prepared to handle his lighter practice load.
The Patriots coach wants to see Barmore stay positive and become an impact player.
“He’s a player that we have to manage. He’s able to get and understand what to do without practicing every single day. I just want to see him finish,” Vrabel said. “Some of those plays that he had in the backfield around the quarterback, and instead of being disruptive, being able to finish those, because he did that a lot. I try to talk to him about not being frustrated, that those plays impact the game. It may not show up on a statistical category.
“But I think his attitude has been great. I enjoy working with him, I do. I’m looking for more and more of the same next year.”
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