Early in his still-brief tenure as the New England Patriots’ top front office executive, Eliot Wolf made clear that his top priority was going to be retaining talent already on the team as he shifts New England to a draft, develop and re-sign philosophy his dad, Ron Wolf, so expertly utilized in Green Bay.
So far, the younger Wolf’s actions are backing that up.
The Patriots re-signed 2021 second-round pick Christian Barmore on Monday to a four-year deal valued at $92 million with $41.8 million guaranteed, according to a league source. That’s the seventh-richest deal among NFL defensive tackles.
The extension comes after the Patriots this offseason already re-signed or extended Josh Uche, Kyle Dugger, Kendrick Bourne, Mike Onwenu and Hunter Henry, giving the Pats a core of players they hope are central to the re-build they are undertaking, headlined by the selection of Drake Maye last week.
Barmore’s deal comes amid a boom in the market for pass-rushing defensive tackles — just the kind of player Barmore is. In a league with more teams playing with two high safeties to try to limit deep passes, there’s an added emphasis on being able to get to the quarterback from the interior of the defensive line.
Barmore can do that. He broke out last season to record 8 1/2 sacks, and his 49 pressures ranked 17th-most among interior defensive linemen. He’ll always be a better pass rusher than a run stopper, but Barmore did improve against the rush last season, making him a more well-rounded player capable of being on the field in all situations. He received a Pro Football Focus grade of 46.9 (out of 100) against the run in 2022, but upped that to 67.8 last season.
Barmore now joins Dugger as the only Patriots under contract through 2027 (though the eight-person rookie class they just drafted will be too once those deals are done).
So much of the Patriots’ focus this offseason has been on the offense. Seven of their eight draft picks were on that side of the ball and their emphasis in free agency was on the offensive line (re-signing Onwenu) and finding pass catchers (re-signing Bourne and Hunter while adding KJ Osborn after their pursuit of Calvin Ridley didn’t work).
But on Monday, they solidified their already-good defense by ensuring Barmore will stick around for this re-build in New England.
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(Photo: Isaiah J. Downing / USA Today)
