The Patriots now are without a key defender
The Patriots on Friday surprisingly ruled out defensive tackle Christian Barmore Friday for New England’s pivotal Week 11 matchup against the New York Jets.
But now, Barmore, a key cog in the middle of the Patriots defense, is slated to miss at least the next four games.
Just an hour after releasing the injury report for Sunday’s tilt versus the Jets, the Patriots reportedly placed Barmore on injured reserve, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.
Barmore has been dealing with a knee injury that sidelined him for the past three games, but appeared to be trending in the right direction coming off the bye. Barmore was a limited participant in two Patriots practices this week before sitting out Friday’s session, which signals he must have suffered a setback. The second-year defensive lineman now isn’t eligible to return until a Dec. 18 road contest against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Barmore last suited up in New England’s Week 6 win over the Cleveland Browns, but only played 29% of the snaps after sustaining the knee injury in the second quarter and didn’t return to the game.
It’s a rough hit for the Patriots defense to lose Barmore as more will be put on the plates of Davon Godchaux and Carl Davis Jr. to fill the void on the defensive line. With the Patriots moving Barmore to IR, they signed backup center Kody Russey to the 53-man roster, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
The Patriots and Jets kickoff from Gillette Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.