Vrabel shares more good news about Christian Barmore’s availability for 2025 season

"We’re going to do right by him whatever is necessary."

Christian Barmore would be a welcome addition to New England's depth chart in 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

March 31, 2025

2 minutes to read

The Patriots added a game-wrecker for the defensive line in 2025 by signing tackle Milton Williams to a four-year, $104 million contract in free agency.

But based on Mike Vrabel’s latest comments, it looks as though fellow defensive tackle Christian Barmore could be in line to join Williams at the line of scrimmage for the 2025 season.

Speaking to reporters at the NFL annual meetings in Florida, Vrabel said that the team expects to have Barmore available when the team’s offseason programs commence next week.

“By all accounts, I think, [he’s] going to participate in the voluntary offseason program,” Vrabel said Monday. “… He popped in the other day to see the doctors.

“And I knew Christian from when I saw him in Alabama. Haven’t really had any interaction with him, and when he walked into the training room, all the trainers and just his energy and presence, so I know that he’s feeling better. We’ll continue to evaluate him. It’s something very serious.”

Barmore’s future in football was seemingly in doubt after a tumultuous 2024 season where he dealt with blood-clotting issues that limited him to just four total games.

Initially diagnosed with blood clots in July during training camp, Barmore returned to game action in mid-November before a recurrence of symptoms prompted the team to place the 25-year-old tackle on the non-football illness list for the remainder of the 2024 campaign.

While Barmore’s future in pro football was seemingly up in the air after that latest setback, the 2021 second-round pick received good news from team doctors during his latest check-in at Gillette Stadium.

“We take the health of our players extremely serious, especially when you’re talking about something like blood clots, and we’re going to have a great plan for him,” Vrabel said. “We’re going to do right by him whatever is necessary. However we can get him to help us based on days of practice, based on everything that he needs. And we don’t have that plan yet, but we’re continuing to work through it.”

The return of a healthy Barmore would be a welcome sight for the Patriots, who missed his ability to consistently put offensive linemen under duress and clog up gaps last season.

New England handed Barmore a four-year contract extension last offseason after the former Alabama product led the team in both sacks (8.5) and QB hits (16) during the 2023 campaign.

Speaking on Chris Long’s “Green light” Podcast last week, Vrabel stressed that both Williams and Barmore have the ability to be dynamic playmakers up front for New England in 2025.

“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 Titans defensive tackle Jeffrey 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.”