Jerod Mayo explains how Christian Barmore's absence impacts Patriots defense

The New England Patriots were thrown a major curveball at the end of July, when star defensive lineman Christian Barmore was hospitalized with blood clots.

In the time since the startling news came to light, there’s yet to be a timetable announced for the former Alabama Crimson Tide defender’s return to the lineup. That’s going to leave a huge hole in the New England defense, and head coach Jerod Mayo elaborated on how the Patriots are planning to move forward.

“I mean, look, it’s no secret, you know, last year, he was one of our best players defensively, and in saying that, we have a lot of guys — I don’t think just one person can embody all of the different things that Barmore did for us, but we do have guys that are hungry. We do have guys that can penetrate the offensive line,” Mayo said, regarding how the Patriots defense as a whole will change with Barmore’s absence. “So, I’m not too concerned about that. You know, it’s the next man.”

Moreover, Barmore, 25, is entering his fourth season in the NFL, all with the Patriots. A 2021 second round pick out of Alabama, Barmore is coming off his best season to date.

He suited up in all 17 games, tallying 8.5 sacks and 64 tackles (39 solo). He added 13 tackles for loss, 16 quarterback hits and one forced fumble. The Patriots rewarded him this offseason with a four-year extension worth a maximum value of $92 million.

While he’ll be missed until he eventually returns for New England, Mayo told the media that Barmore is in “good spirits” at least, and the defensive tackle is getting the necessary care he needs. 

“He just wants to play football but in understanding the seriousness of this, he needs to get healthy, and we’ll be praying for him,” Mayo said. 

There’s a myriad of players who could move up the depth chart with Barmore out. For example, New England could rely on names like Armon Watts and Josiah Bronson to get the job done, but Mayo knows it’ll be a team effort.

“We’ll see. … It’s easy to say this guy can do it, that guy can do it, but a guy like Barmore, as disruptive as he is, it’s kind of hard to get that same production,” Mayo explained. “But look, other guys have to step up and treat it like a normal injury, even though it’s not a normal injury, and next man up.”

On3’s Nick Geddes contributed to this article.