The Patriots defensive tackle missed most of 2024 due to blood clots.
After missing most of 2024 following a blood clots diagnosis, Christian Barmore has been a regular at Gillette Stadium the last few weeks.
A full participant in the New England Patriots’ voluntary offseason workout program, the fifth-year defensive tackle is on track to make his comeback in Week 1. Barmore confirmed this outlook during a press conference on Thursday.
“That’s the goal,” he said. “I just have to keep following the medical team. But everything is looking really good.”
Coming off the best season of his career, Barmore entered last year’s training camp as a key player alongside New England’s defensive line. However, he began displaying signs of discomfort in practice and eventually underwent a medical evaluation that led to the discovery of blood clots.
Barmore spent four months on the sidelines following his diagnosis, but he kept a steady presence in the building and eventually returned to practice in mid-November. Three days after that, he appeared in his first game of the season.
Barmore’s return to the field was encouraging, but he suffered an apparent setback in December. As a consequence, the team moved him back to the non-football injury list to end his season after only four games as well as six tackles and a sack.
“It was really confusing, anger, and really mind-blowing because I was doing a lot of work during that time,” the 25-year-old explained on Thursday. “All that work appeared to be for nothing, it felt like, because I was doing everything I can just to come back for this team last year. I don’t ever want to be in this situation again, or anybody in the world to go through that, because that stuff was no joke. It was just a hard challenge.”
Five months removed from his second trip to the NFI list, Barmore is now looking toward the future and not concerned about any more issues arising.
“My family supported me. My teammates supported me. The medical team supported me,” he said. “They make me grind hard every day. They make me the guy that just wants to keep working hard, the guy that just wants to keep getting better, and worry about the future.”
As was announced by the NFL on Wednesday, the Patriots will play the Las Vegas Raiders on opening day.