Patriots

What Jerod Mayo said about Christian Barmore’s indefinite absence

"But for me, it's not even about football. When you talk about things like that, it's about the man."

Christian Barmore Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff

By Khari Thompson

After practice on Sunday, the Patriots released a statement saying that Christian Barmore had been diagnosed with blood clots and treated over the weekend at Mass General Brigham.

On Monday, coach Jerod Mayo opened his press conference by thanking those who treated Barmore during his stay and at practice.

“Obviously, it’s an unfortunate thing,” Mayo said. “But for me, it’s not even about football. When you talk about things like that, it’s about the man. He’s getting tremendous care, and I’m anticipating him coming back.”

Barmore is out of the hospital and in good spirits, Mayo said, but there is still no timetable for his return.

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“I think all these situations are different, and I’m not a specialist in that world,” Mayo said. “So I don’t want to put a diagnosis or a timetable to come back. When he’s ready to go, we’ll be here waiting for him.”

Defensive lineman Armon Watts said hearing about Barmore’s diagnosis was shocking.

“It was tough just to lose a guy like that out of nowhere,” “Watts said. “Like I said, we’re all praying for him and I think it’s always a next guy up mentality so whoever gets that opportunity has to make the best of it.”

David Andrews missed the 2019 season because of blood clots. Mayo said he remembers the incident and added that most of the staff that dealt with Andrews’s situation are still there.

“I have full confidence in those guys to help (Barmore) out,” Mayo said. “I’m sure at some point in time, you’ve got to remember this just happened, not too long ago. He’s still trying to digest what’s going on right now as well, and as well as his treatment plan.”

Barmore is coming off of a career-year, at the end of which he signed a lucrative contract extension. Dealing with his absence won’t be easy.

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“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.”