WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- New England Patriots starting defensive tackle Christian Barmore, who experienced recurring symptoms from blood clots in December, is expected to participate in the team's voluntary offseason program that begins April 7, according to head coach Mike Vrabel.
"He popped in the other day to see the doctors. When he walked into the training room, just his energy and presence, so I know that he's feeling better," Vrabel told reporters at the NFL annual meeting.
"We'll continue to evaluate him. It's something very serious. We take the health of our players extremely serious, especially when you're talking about something like blood clots, and we're going to have a great plan for him."
Barmore was initially diagnosed with blood clots in late July. He missed the first 10 games of the season, and then returned to play in four games before experiencing recurring symptoms and landing on the non-football illness list.
The Patriots would ideally like to pair Barmore alongside free-agent signing Milton Williams at defensive tackle, which potentially could give them one of the NFL's more dynamic combinations at the position in Vrabel's revamped attacking defense.
In a reflection of how the Patriots view the 6-foot-5, 315-pound Barmore as a cornerstone player to build around, they signed him to a four-year contract extension with a maximum value of $92 million that included $41.8 million in guaranteed money last April.
Meanwhile, Williams became the highest-paid player in franchise history when he signed a four-year, $104 million contract after four seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles.
As for the next steps with Barmore, who entered the NFL as a second-round pick out of Alabama in 2021, Vrabel said: "We're going to do right by him whatever is necessary; however, we can get him to help us based on days of practice, based on everything that he needs. And we don't have that plan yet, but we're continuing to work through it."
In addition to the update on Barmore's status, Vrabel touched on a few other notable areas in his 34-minute session with reporters:
Wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk, a 2024 second-round pick out of Washington who had a rocky rookie season (12 catches, 87 yards, 2 TDs), is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. Vrabel said he has been excited about how Polk has approached his rehabilitation, working on his lower-body strength.
Caedan Wallace, a 2024 third-round pick out of Penn State who appeared in just six games last season, is viewed as a candidate to start at left tackle -- which is arguably the team's most glaring hole. Last year's starter, Vederian Lowe, who played through a shoulder injury at times in 2024, is rehabilitating from offseason surgery. "I think the draft is going to be a good option for us [at offensive tackle]," Vrabel added. "There are a lot of guys in the draft that we like, at a lot of different levels."
Vrabel said the team has talked with the Commanders (home) and Vikings (away) about having joint practices in the preseason, but is waiting on NFL approval/scheduling as those would be paired with preseason games.
