Mike Vrabel offers positive update on Christian Barmore when discussing who could be Patriots’ version of Jeffrey Simmons
"We're excited to see where Christian Barmore is coming back and where his availability is going to be."
When Mike Vrabel was the head coach of the Titans, defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons was widely viewed as someone who helped instill the new Patriots head coach’s culture in Tennessee.
As he embarks on his first season as New England’s coach, Vrabel wants that enforcer type of player on the Patriots’ roster. He has a few candidates in mind, including Christian Barmore, as he offered a positive update on the defensive tackle in an appearance on Chris Long’s “Green Light” podcast.
“I think there’s guys up there that we have to have from that position that, when you say [expletive], is disruptive, creating the tone, setting the tone, and creating the standard of what it is to play with speed, violence, physicality, effort, and relentlessness,” Vrabel said when asked which Patriots defensive tackle can emulate Simmons. “We feel good about what we’ve done. We’re excited about what Milton [Williams] is going to bring to our football team. We’re excited to see where Christian Barmore is coming back and where his availability is going to be. Continue to work with some of these young guys.”
Barmore missed the majority of the 2024 season due to blood clots, which were discovered during the first week of training camp in late July. He was sidelined until the middle of November, making his return in Week 11. His return didn’t last long, though, as he played in just four games before being moved back to the non-football illness football list in December.
“The New England Patriots are placing defensive tackle Christian Barmore on the reserve non-football illness list after he experienced some recurring symptoms that required further evaluation,” the Patriots’ said in a statement at the time. “We appreciate everything Christian did to return to the team this season, but our top priority is Christian’s health and wellbeing.
“We know that he will continue to receive tremendous care and we want to ensure that he gets the time he needs to come back stronger than ever.”
Vrabel’s comment on Barmore didn’t come with any certainty, but it did seem a bit more optimistic than what the reporting surrounding his situation has been this offseason. Internally, the Patriots were “confronting the possibility they could be without” Barmore in 2025, the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan and Doug Kyed reported March 2. A week later, ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported that Barmore had been working out in Tampa Bay this offseason with the intention of returning, but there was “no certainty on his availability.”
If the Patriots are able to get Barmore back at full health in 2025, it’s arguable that he could be their top defensive player, even with the signing of Williams and Christian Gonzalez’s emergence. He was arguably their best defensive player in his last full season, recording 64 total tackles, 8.5 sacks, and 49 pressures. That play earned him a four-year, $84 million extension last April.
The 25-year-old Barmore wasn’t as effective in the brief playing time he got in 2024. He only had six total tackles, a sack, and three pressures over four games.
As it’s possible the Patriots slowplay things with Barmore, Vrabel pointed to another young player on their defensive line who could have an impact like Simmons, a three-time Pro Bowler.
“Excited to work with Keion White and continue to work on his technique,” Vrabel said. “He’s such a talented athlete with size that if we can continue to refine some of his technique, that really is going to help him with how technical the position can be.”
White emerged as a standout for the Patriots in 2024 in a pretty down year. He recorded 56 total tackles, five sacks, and two forced fumbles. He also had 45 pressures and had a 12.7 pass rush win rate, which ranked 38th among the 107 defensive linemen who played in at least half of their team’s defensive snaps in 2024, per Pro Football Focus.
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