Trade rumors are swirling around the New England Patriots after last week's second-half comeback against the AFC East rival Dolphins in Miami. One of the loudest rumors with the deadline looming on Tuesday has featured veteran defensive tackle Christian Barmore.
The 27-year-old has been a staple along the Patriots' interior defensive line, except when a health issue sidelined him for most of 2024. Fast forward to Week 9 of this season, and second-year Patriot Cory Durden seems to be contending with Barmore for a starting position along the interior of the defensive line.
Barmore had a breakout year in 2023, when he registered 8.5 sacks. He hasn't come close to that production since. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported on Oct. 30 that Barmore "could be had" having played well less than 50% of the Patriots' defensive snaps.
The Barmore trade rumors were an interesting development, to say the least. One of the reasons this may have some traction is that Durden has been playing well. His performance in the Miami game (1.5 sacks, 3 quarterback hits) was eye-opening.
Also, Barmore's contract could be a factor.
Patriots have financial reasons to trade Christian Barmore (but football reasons not to)
In 2026, Barmore has only seven total stops, but he's registered seven tackles for loss, seven quarterback hits, and a solid 3.5 sacks.
Durden has 19 total stops on the season to go with five quarterback hits, two tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. While Durden's 26 snaps were noticeably fewer than Barmore's 36 in the Miami game, he's clearly getting more playing time now, and his production is increasing accordingly. The fourth-year veteran is emerging as a force alongside Milton Williams.
Another major factor in whether Durden might take Barmore's place next to Williams on a more permanent basis is their contracts. Barmore has two years remaining on his deal with cap hits of $23.6 million in 2027 and $24.6 million in 2028. He has no guarantees, though, remaining in his deal after the 2026 season, according to Over the Cap.
Conversely, Durden is on the books this season for only $1.15M, and he's an unrestricted free agent in 2027.
Those numbers have to be a factor in any discussion about a Barmore trade before the deadline. Trading Barmore would provide some cap relief for the rest of this season and beyond. But the big question for the Patriots is whether they can afford to offload a top talent like Barmore while in the thick of a playoff race. In that hypothetical, an injury to Williams would be catastrophic to the defensive line.
With Durden emerging as a solid player, the temptation may be there for the Patriots to cut ties with Barmore. While it would save salary cap space this season and beyond, it would be done with an eye to the future. This is 2026, however, and not having Barmore in the second half of the season would be a net negative for the Patriots.
The guess here is it's a risk the Patriots won't be willing to take if they feel they can make another deep playoff run this season.
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