Patriots’ Christian Barmore reportedly set to make 2024 debut after dealing with blood clots
Barmore will likely be limited in Sunday's game after returning to practice this week.
Christian Barmore is set to make his official return after being diagnosed with blood clots at the start of training camp.
The Patriots’ defensive tackle will be activated from the non-football illness list ahead of Sunday’s game against the Rams, according to multiple reports. Barmore returned to practice this week, and head coach Jerod Mayo hinted at the possibility that he could play as soon as Sunday when he spoke with reporters Friday.
“There’s a chance,” Mayo said. “We have a meeting with the doctors after practice today, so there is a chance. No, seriously, there is a chance. We have medical meetings every single day, and we’ll see how that goes.”
While the Patriots will welcome Barmore back, Mayo made it clear that they aren’t expecting him to be a major contributor right away. Mayo said Friday that the “expectation is there is no expectation,” signaling Barmore would play limited snaps.
“For a guy who hasn’t really put on pads since January, it’s tough,” Mayo said. “You never want to just throw a guy out there coming off an injury, regardless of what the injury is, throw him out there for 50 plays. That’s unrealistic. I think we see what he can handle, and we’ll build from there.”
Barmore arguably became the Patriots’ best player in the 2023 season. He recorded 64 total tackles and 8.5 sacks to go with 49 pressures and 40 run stops, per Pro Football Focus. New England has sorely missed Barmore’s pass-rushing production for much of the season, recording 16 sacks in its first nine games before its nine-sack outburst against Chicago last week.
After his breakout 2023 season, Barmore was rewarded with a four-year, $84 million extension. He was diagnosed with blood clots just a few days after the Patriots opened up training camp, immediately sidelining him and leaving his 2024 season in question.
Mayo had indicated in recent weeks, though, that Barmore could return this season, but he never gave a set timetable. Now, the day for Barmore to return to game action after dealing with a scary health situation has arrived. Even though Barmore will be limited, he and the Patriots are happy he’s back on the field.
“I know he’s excited, and he’s been wanting to get back on the field for a long time. A lot of credit to the doctors and the medical staff,” Mayo said. “They’ve done a great job handling the situation with Barmore.
“It’s tough as an athlete when you have something like blood clots because you don’t have a cast on, you don’t have a sling on or anything like that. It’s almost like that invisible – ‘I feel good enough to play, I feel good enough to play,’ but there are definitely steps and procedures that we have to get through.”
In order to make room for Barmore on the active roster, the Patriots waived 2022 second-round pick Tyquan Thornton.
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