Mike Vrabel gives promising update on Christian Barmore’s health status
At the NFL Owners Meetings on Monday, New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel discussed the status of defensive tackle Christian Barmore. Barmore, 25, is continuing to recover from a blood clot issue that kept him off the gridiron for most of the 2024 season.
“By all accounts, I think, [he is] going to participate in the voluntary offseason program,” Vrabel said. “He came in with an energy [when] he popped in the other day to see the doctors…So I know that he’s feeling better. We’ll continue to evaluate him. That’s something very serious. We take the health of our players extremely serious, especially when you’re talking about something like blood clots.”
In this case, it seems the recovery process is progressing, but the Patriots would be right to be conservative with his return. For context, Barmore was originally diagnosed with the blood clots in July of 2024, he made his season debut four months later in Week 11, but was again sidelined just four games later due to recurring symptoms.
“We’re going to have a great plan for him. We’re going to do right by him, whatever is necessary,” said Vrabel. “We don’t have that plan yet, but we’re continuing to work through it.”
So, it may still be some time before Barmore is back to full-form, but it’s certainly a reassuring sign that he is currently good enough to start some semblance of team activities. If and when he’s cleared for action he’ll rejoin a bolstered defensive front seven that the Patriots addressed heavily in free agency. If he can get back to his 2023 career year form or better, he could once again be a solid piece in the middle for the Pats.
Luke Graham is a digital sports content co-op for 98.5 the Sports Hub. He is currently a sophomore at Northeastern University studying communications and media studies. Read all his articles here, and follow him on X @LukeGraham05.
