Patriots Defensive Line Must Bring This Mentality Without Star Defender

The New England Patriots defensive line will look a bit different for the seeable future after the club announced defensive tackle Christian Barmore was diagnosed with blood clots on Sunday.

After Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo provided an update on Barmore before Day 5 of training camp at Gillette Stadium on Monday, the focus became who could fill the void on the defensive line given the uncertainty surrounding Barmore’s return.

“We’ll see. Today’s the first day of pads, and 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 told reporters, per team-provided video. “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.”

When Matthew Judon suffered a season-ending injury last year, Barmore rose to the challenge and led the Patriots’ defense with 8.5 sacks, 16 quarterback hits, and 13 tackles for loss.

“It’s no secret, last year he was one of our best players defensively,” Mayo said. “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. I’m not too concerned about that. It’s the next man up.”

The Patriots will have to rely on newcomers Armon Watts and Josiah Bronson, along with Davon Godchaux, Daniel Ekuale, Jeremiah Pharms, and Trysten Hill, to step up in Barmore’s absence. Godchaux and Judon are both looking for contract adjustments and the loss of Barmore could impact both situations.