Patriots DL Christian Barmore expects to play Week 1, opens up about blood clots

Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald on May 15, 2025

Published in Football

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FOXBORO, Mass. — It had been five months since Christian Barmore last surfaced.

Five months of silence, as he worked quietly to return to the football field and everyone else wondered if he would ever play NFL football again. A recurrence of blood clot-related symptoms sidelined him last December, just five months after he was originally diagnosed with blood clots in late July. Internally, the Patriots have been cautiously optimistic about Barmore’s return, but assured of nothing.

On Thursday, in his first press conference since last season, Barmore all but threw caution to the wind.

The 25-year-old defensive tackle said he anticipates he will play Week 1.

“Yeah, that’s the goal. I just gotta keep following (the) medical team,” Barmore said of playing in the season opener, “but everything look real (good).”

Barmore added he has been cleared for football activity this spring and does not fear his blood clots returning.

The Patriots will continue Organized Team Activities (OTAs) next week with non-padded practices, including a Tuesday session that will be open to reporters. Whether Barmore participates or not, he is happy to be past the frustration that accompanied his physical symptoms last December.

“It was really confusing,” Barmore said. “Anger, and just really like mind-blowing because like I was putting in a lot of work here at that time. It’s like all that work I put in (was) for nothing. I was doing everything I could just to come back for this team last year. I don’t ever want to be in a situation — or (for) anybody in the world to go through that — because that stuff was no joke and was just a hard challenge.”

The fifth-year veteran plans to use last year’s lost season as motivation. This spring, Barmore and fellow defensive tackle Milton Williams have been competing to see who can show up earlier to the facility on days the Patriots are holding meetings and on-field workouts. Williams said they plan to be the foundation of coach Mike Vrabel’s new defense.

“We’re having conversations about (how) the defense is gonna start with what we do up front, and every day we come in, we’ve got to set the tone and everybody else is gonna follow,” Williams said Tuesday. “Me and (Barmore) are gonna set the table for the defense that we’re gonna be this year, and we’re gonna carry us throughout the year.”

Barmore missed the first 10 games last season after he was diagnosed just days into training camp. He returned for a mid-November home loss against the Rams and played in four games. He tallied six tackles and a sack, then landed back on the Non-Football Injury list. Teams do not have to pay players on the NFI list, but the Patriots chose to do so with Barmore, whose base salary was $1,822,128 last year.

His salary will jump to $10 million this season, thanks to four-year, $84 million extension he signed after a breakout 2023 campaign that saw him emerge as one of the Patriots’ best players. In 2023, he totaled 8.5 sacks, 64 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and 16 QB hits, most of which were team highs.

“(I’m) really just enjoying the game that I love again,” Barmore said. “Just not worrying about the stuff that was holding me back from last year.”