Following a rash of injuries, the Patriots have had a rough time up front over the last month, but it sounds like they’re finally potentially going to get a key player back.
According to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, defensive tackle Christian Barmore, who has been sidelined while dealing with blood clots since this summer, is reportedly set to return to practice this week.
Barmore was not on the list of Patriots injuries on Wednesday when the club listed this week’s group ahead of Sunday’s game against the Rams, but it sounds like he could be out there when they hit the field in the next day or so.
Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said earlier this month that the team was “getting close” when it came to seeing the veteran back out on the field, and it looks like the road back may be finally set to begin for the former 2021 second-round pick.
The veteran tackle signed a four-year contract extension this offseason, locking up one of New England’s best defensive players for the foreseeable future. That signing was significant since Barmore is arguably their most important interior defensive linemen, which saw him among key efforts made by the Patriots this spring to keep its young nucleus together on defense.
But a run of bad luck and bad decisions has certainly hurt them this season. Fellow teammate Kyle Dugger, who was also extended this offseason, has been battling injuries all year. He suffered an ankle injury in Week 1 against Cincinnati, and then seemingly reaggravated it in Week 4, which has seen him on the injury report every week since, with the veteran having missed the last three weeks.
Jabrill Peppers was also extended this offseason, but he hasn’t been heard from since he was arrested back at the beginning of October on a strangulation and drug possession charge. That incident has since seen him end up on the commissioner’s exempt list, which now has his future with the team in question. Owner Robert Kraft said after the news came out that, “If what was reported is true, he’s gone,” and his situation still remains unresolved.
Still, it’s disappointing, and it comes during Jerod Mayo’s first season where a culture is trying to be established and examples needing to be set. In Peppers’ case, his is even more disappointing given that he was a player who had become not only another key player on defense, but also someone players looked up to in the locker room. Peppers preached accountability and putting the team-first not long before he was arrested, which certainly adds a bit of irony to his story.
Barmore also experienced his own mishap after a run in with the law last month. The defensive tackle was cited by Providence police during a traffic stop that occurred just before 1 am, with Barmore calling the incident “racism at its finest.”
He was reportedly cited for operation of an unregistered vehicle, display of plates penalties, and driving with an expired license. Barmore later apologized following the incident.
With all of that now in the rearview, Barmore finds himself at the end of a long road that will hopefully result in an eventual return to the line-up. For a team that still somehow finds itself in the playoff hunt thanks to the fact the NFL is in the middle of a strange year full of other 2, 3, 4, and 5 win teams, they may be getting him back at just the right time to keep things interesting down the stretch.
The Patriots are currently preparing for the Los Angeles Rams, who will visit Gillette Stadium this Sunday at 1:00pm.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
