Mike Vrabel says he benched Christian Barmore to ‘protect the team’

"When there are actions that I don’t feel like are commensurate with what we want to do here, I have to make a decision."

Christian Barmore didn't play in the entire first quarter on Sunday. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

October 26, 2025

1 minute to read

FOXBOROUGH — Christian Barmore has played a key role in New England’s impressive 6-2 start to the 2025 season, with the 26-year-old defensive tackle routinely wreaking havoc at the line of scrimmage so far this fall.

But as the Browns started Sunday’s matchup at Gillette Stadium with a 7-3 lead in the opening quarter, Barmore was nowhere to be found out on the gridiron.

Barmore — who was not labeled on New England’s final injury report this week — spent the entire first quarter on the sideline before logging his first defensive snaps at the start of the second quarter.

Speaking after New England’s eventual 32-13 win over Cleveland, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel acknowledged that it was his call to sit Barmore for the opening 15 minutes of play.

“I just had to make a decision. My job’s to protect the team,” Vrabel said when asked about Barmore’s benching. “So when there are actions that I don’t feel like are commensurate with what we want to do here, I have to make a decision. And we move on.”

Barmore, who declined to speak postgame in New England’s locker room, finished with one tackle in the win while also dialing up pressure that led to a safety in the fourth quarter after Browns QB Dillon Gabriel was whistled for intentional grounding in the end zone.

Finally playing with a clean bill of health after blood-clotting issues sidelined most of his 2024 season, Barmore has been a regular in Vrabel’s defense so far this season — playing in 65 percent of New England’s defensive snaps entering Sunday’s game against Cleveland.

Barmore, who signed a four-year, $84 million contract extension with New England in April 2024, has recorded 12 total tackles through eight games this season. Even if he hasn’t recorded a sack to this point, he has regularly put opposing QBs under duress.

According to Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald, Pro Football Focus charted Barmore with a team-high six pressures on Sunday against the Browns — despite only recording 30 defensive snaps.