Patriots Trade Rumors: Teams Pursuing Christian Barmore Deal?

At 1-5, the Patriots look like a team that should sell before the Oct. 31 NFL trade deadline. They have a decent, veteran group of pending free agents who could net solid returns from contending teams.

Kendrick Bourne, Kyle Dugger and Josh Uche are just a few of the potential candidates who make sense.

But young players who are under contract for at least another season? We hadn’t seen many of those names tossed around until we saw a Friday report from Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.

Fowler reported New England could get trade calls on Bourne while adding there wasn’t much “movement” at the time of his writing. But later in his report, Fowler surprisingly floated third-year defensive tackle Christian Barmore as a possible trade target.

“Teams are torn on whether they think New England, at 1-5, blows up the roster at the deadline,” Fowler wrote. ” ‘They are a team that will say players are available but then will pull back,’ one league exec said. This isn’t a stout roster. But a handful of players hold value. Among names that league execs say they are curious about: pass rusher Josh Uche, offensive guard Mike Onwenu, Bourne, defensive tackle Christian Barmore, and safety Kyle Dugger.”

Trading Barmore would be a stunning, full-rebuild move for the Patriots.

No, the 2021 second-round pick hasn’t turned into the consistently dominant force he’s capable of being. And injuries have been an issue.

But when healthy, Barmore is a difference-maker in New England’s defense. And you easily could argue he’s one of the five most talented players on the roster — and he’s just 24 years old.

In the first six games this season, Barmore posted one sack and 14 tackles while seeing a career-high 58% of defensive snaps. His 12 quarterback pressures rank fourth on the Patriots, according to Pro Football Focus, which ranks Barmore 51st among all interior defenders.

But Barmore’s impact goes beyond the stat sheet. There are times when the Alabama product, who has one season left on his contract, is completely unblockable and forces opposing offensive lines to make adjustments.

Is that the kind of player the Patriots should be taking trade calls on? Probably not, but all bets are off when you’re one of the worst teams in the NFL.