Sidelined defensive tackle Christian Barmore is staying engaged with Patriots
"This is an opportunity for him to learn about football as a whole and not just what a defensive tackle does."
FOXBOROUGH — Christian Barmore was in the Patriots locker room Friday catching up with his teammates.
The 6-foot-5-inch, 315-pound defensive tackle remains out indefinitely after being diagnosed with blood clots during the summer, and his coaches and teammates feel it is important to keep him engaged with the team.
“He’s going by doctors’ orders,” coach Jerod Mayo said. “I would also say I think it’s important for a guy like that to be in the building.
“One thing about the idle mind, you’re just sitting at home all the time, that’s nothing but trouble. For a young player like that, this is an opportunity for him to learn about football as a whole and not just what a defensive tackle does.”
Mayo, who ended up on injured reserve several times during his playing career, said watching from the sidelines and breaking down film helped with his transition into coaching.
Barmore is on the non-football injury list, which is a different designation than injured reserve, but both men know how it feels to be unable to play.
“It really does stink to have to go on IR, but you can still be a productive teammate,” Mayo said. “So even when I got hurt, I think you guys know the story of how I started learning how to break down film and do all those things. I look back on it almost as a blessing.
“But when you’re on IR, you’re in the storm. It’s kind of hard to see what God has planned for you.”
Mayo said Barmore is in charge of producing a weekly video clip called “Funny Friday.” It’s between 30 seconds and one minute long and aimed at making his teammates laugh.
Defensive end Keion White missed eight games of his 2021 season at Georgia Tech with an ankle injury. He said an extended absence can take its toll on a player’s mind. The camaraderie of a team can help, he said.
“A lot of times when you have injuries like that, just being disconnected can make you kind of get into your own head,” White said. “So just for him to be around and still feel like he’s part of the team is something good.”
“We just support him,” linebacker Anfernee Jennings added. “We are with him in what he’s going through, and we are waiting on him to make a speedy recovery.”
Outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins said Barmore’s teammates are drawn to his personality, calling the defensive lineman a “positive force” in the locker room.
“He’s a guy that everybody kind of gravitates to,” Wilkins said. “Those guys — outside backers, D-line, anybody on the team — really likes that guy because of his personality because he’s got a gravitational pull to him.”
Input from Mazzulla
One thing football has in common with other team sports such as basketball or hockey is the importance of spacing, Mayo said.
“Most of these team sports are about space,” Mayo said. “So, obviously, you can look at football: 3×1 is, obviously, it’s about space. But the same thing in hockey. Sometimes I’ll watch hockey, and they’ll overload a side, and they’ll have a guy over here. Now, depending on who this guy is over here, you’ve got to make a choice defensively.
“Either you double-team this guy, but now you’re light over here. Same thing in basketball. So here you go, if you have Jayson Tatum over here versus someone who’s not really a scorer and we overload a side, you’ve got to make a choice. We’re going to double-team Jayson Tatum and be short over here on the overload side, or we’ll just try to play it straight, and this guy now has a one-on-one.”
Mayo said he and Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla have had a number of conversations about spacing and other topics over the years.
“Joe’s been great,” he said. “I think I told you guys, Joe and I, before he became the head coach, we had a relationship. He would sit in the defensive meetings and we would talk about philosophical things, philosophy. Team sports are team sports. It’s great.”
Sow close to return
Mayo said offensive guard Sidy Sow responded well after returning to practice this week. Sow missed the first three games with an ankle injury, but Mayo is optimistic that he will play Sunday.
“Sidy’s done great,” Mayo said. “It was close last week, and hopefully we look forward to seeing him play here on Sunday.”
Sow also struck an optimistic note when asked if he will be able to play.
“As of now, I think so, but I don’t make the final decisions,” he said. “So we’ll see, but I feel really good physically. No setbacks, so that’s good.”
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