The New England Patriots are keeping one of their best defenders around for the long term. The Patriots and defensive lineman Christian Barmore agreed on a four-year contract extension that will pay Barmore $92 million, according to CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones. According to ESPN, $41.8 million is guaranteed. It's the largest non-Tom Brady contract handed out by the Patriots in the franchise's history.
Barmore is just the latest in a group of interior linemen to sign a big deal this offseason, joining players like Chris Jones, Christian Wilkins, Justin Madubuike, Derrick Brown and more. His $92 million in total compensation checks in behind only Jones, Wilkins, Madubuike, Brown, Quinnen Williams and Jeffery Simmons among interior linemen leaguewide, as does his $23.5 million average annual value. The reported $41.8 million guarantee would also come in behind Daron Payne, Dexter Lawrence and DeForest Buckner, but ahead of Brown.
Barmore, a 2021 second-round pick, is coming off the best season of his three-year career, during which he notched 8.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss and 16 quarterbacks hits, along with a career-high 64 tackles. His 49 pressures tied for 14th-most among interior linemen, per Pro Football Focus; and his 10.7% pressure rate, per TruMedia, put him on par with players like Buckner (10.9%), Cameron Jordan (10.7%) and Rams rookie Kobie Turner (also 10.7%).
Barmore also totaled 40 run stops, per PFF, fourth-most among players at his position, and did so while playing far fewer snaps of run defense than any of the three players ahead of him (Brown, Buckner, and Williams). It's clear that the Patriots see Barmore as one of the building blocks of their team under new head coach Jerod Mayo, and they have compensation him accordingly.