Star Patriots Defensive Tackle Emerges as Potential Trade Candidate

Let's wind the clock back to this past spring, when the New England Patriots were in the middle of all their player movement. Some were leaving, some were returning, and some were new additions.

Within that time frame, defensive tackle Christian Barmore had plenty of trade buzz during free agency due to being signed through 2028 but not due any guaranteed money in 2027 or 2028.

By OTAs and training camp, that buzz died down, but now, with the trade deadline looming, Barmore seems to be a topic of trade talks as the season goes on.

Of course, there are two sides to this argument.

For starters, Barmore is an integral part of the defense, especially over the last few seasons in New England. His rookie campaign in 2021 showed a lot of promise, but a sophomore slump that was injury-riddled never really put too much in question for the second-round pick out of Alabama.

In 2023, he capped the season with 8.5 sacks and 64 tackles, and he was awarded a $92 million long-term extension based on that. Barmore is one of the few remaining draft picks out of the last few years of the Belichick era that the Patriots still have.

However, a 2024 blood clot issue sidelined him for most of the season, and with recent league-wide health scares, along with other factors, the Patriots may want to move on from Barmore.

NFL Insiders like Albert Breer report the Patriots do have a nagging desire to move on from Barmore in the coming weeks. The Patriots will be evaluating their roster and defensive snap distribution, and one thing stands out: Barmore has played only 41/9% of defensive snaps this season (averaging only 30 snaps per game).

In comparison, Barmore played 65.26% of the New England Patriots' defensive snaps over the season (665 total defensive snaps).

His snap counts on early downs have dropped sharply, especially since the Patriots have cycled in different rotations this season. Players like Milton Williams and Cory Durden seem to have become the studs out there more than Barmore lately; still, he has remained in third-down pass-rush packages. Barmore is around a 74.6% snap rate on third downs in 2026, down slightly from 84% in 2025.

This, along with some off-the-field issues for Barmore this offseason, is one reason the Patriots may want to cash in on his interior pass-rushing upside for draft capital or positional help.