Patriots activate DT Christian Barmore and release WR Tyquan Thornton in series of moves for Sunday’s game against the Rams

Last season, Barmore was the Patriots’ best player and the team rewarded him with a lucrative four-year contract extension. He led the team with 8.5 sacks and 49 pressures while ranking seventh among defensive linemen in 2023 with 32 runs. Additionally, New England ranks 26th in team pressure (31.3%) and last in pressure generated by a four-man pass rush (24.8%) this season. The Pats were 24th (33.8%) and 26th (31%) respectively in those metrics with Barmore in the lineup a year ago.

As a high-end interior pass rusher, Barmore takes the Patriots’ four-man pass rush significantly to the next level, allowing defenses to disrupt quarterbacks without blitzing. According to NextGen Stats, New England generates 45.1% pressure when it blitzes, compared to 24% when it doesn’t blitz, the second-largest difference in the NFL. That’s not necessarily where you want to be as a defense, because blitzing takes defenders out of coverage.

Before we get too ahead of ourselves, as coach Mayo said, it’s unrealistic for Barmore to play anywhere near his 65.9% rate from last season. As well as recovering from a serious illness, Barmore has not played since last January so some patience will be needed as he works his way back into game form.

That said, even if he can contribute as a situational pass rusher, that will be a significant upgrade for a Patriots defense after a nine-sack performance in last week’s win over the Bears. On average, defenses play 10-15 third-down snaps per game, which seems like a good starting point for Barmore. A pressure package featuring Barmore and second-year DL Keion White should excite Patriots fans. Additionally, veteran pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue is expected to make his Pats debut, while edge rusher Anfernee Jennings is improving as a pass rusher.

The Patriots defense is trying to turn the corner for a surge in the second half of the season. New England ranks 30th in defensive DVOA through 10 weeks. With Barmore back in the mix and the defense putting on a great performance in Chicago, this is an opportunity for the defense to take the lead.

While it’s great news that Barmore is returning, the other side of Saturday’s trades is that the Patriots are moving on from former second-round pick Tyquan Thornton. New England had seven wide receivers on its 53-man roster before Saturday, so it made sense that they would release a player from that room to open up a roster spot if necessary. The remaining Pats wideouts are Kendrick Bourne, Kayshon Boutte, DeMario Douglas, KJ Osborn, Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker.

In 2022, New England moved up to the 50th overall pick to select the speedy Thornton, who was expected to bring a field-stretching element with a league-best 4.28-second 40-yard dash. However, Thornton’s skills did not translate to the NFL level, ending his three-year run with the Patriots with 39 career catches for 385 yards and two touchdowns.

Thornton’s 6-2, 185-pound frame couldn’t withstand the rigors of professional football in more ways than one. He especially struggled to stay healthy. Second, the rangy receiver has had trouble discovering physical coverage and finishing through contact. There were also problems with route execution and ball tracking. Ultimately, Thornton was a failed draft pick. He had moments in camp practices where you saw some skill, and it looked like he had earned a role as a deep threat this summer, but that didn’t carry over into the regular season. The question now is who was primarily responsible for the Thornton pick and how do the Patriots learn from it?

We can debate how much responsibility the new HR department bears for the choices made under their old boss. The bottom line, however, is that this team has struggled to evaluate talent in the draft at wide receiver. Thornton joins other recent misses like N’Keal Harry (first round, 2019), and while it’s premature to call them scents, rookies Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker have eleven combined catches in ten games.

With the Patriots hoping to build around promising rookie QB Drake Maye, they need to figure out a way to get impact receivers through the draft. It’s the easiest and most efficient way to find top talent. Otherwise, you’re giving up draft capital and/or paying top-of-market value for veterans who may not be blue chip talents, especially in free agency.

Then the Patriots didn’t activate CB Alex Austin (ankle) from injured reserve this week. The club has until Wednesday (November 20) to activate Austin, otherwise his 21-day window will close and his season will end. The sticking point for Austin is creating an active roster spot. Someone else must be released if activated, which is an added layer.

Finally, the Patriots signed linebackers Joe Giles-Harris and Keshawn Banks from the practice squad for Sunday’s game. Giles-Harris is now out of standard levels, meaning the team will need to sign Giles-Harris to the 53-man roster so he can play in games after this week. Giles-Harris played 19 snaps on special teams and eight snaps on defense in the second half of last week’s win.

Elevating two linebackers indicates the team is uncertain about the status of Elliss (abdomen) and Sione Takitaki (knee) for Sunday’s game; both linebackers are listed as questionable for Week 11. Elliss did not play last week due to his abdominal injury, while Takitaki left last Sunday’s win in the second half and did not practice in Wednesday’s padded practice.

On Friday, Elliss and Takitaki participated in drills during the practice portion with media access. Hopefully this means they have the inclination to play. Takitaki was available last week and that is a step forward for the spot next to starter Jahlani Tavai. From this perspective, it is no coincidence that Tavai played his best game of the year, with Takitaki being reliable alongside him on the second level of the defense.

As for Banks, the second-year edge rusher is viewed more as an online linebacker than an inside linebacker. His elevation could also indicate uncertainty surrounding the (foot) status of veteran DE Deathrich Wise. After not practicing this week, Wise is officially questionable for Sunday’s game.

New England looks for its first two-game winning streak in almost two years on Sunday. The last time the Patriots won multiple games in a row was a three-game winning streak in 2022. After a big win over the Bears last week, it’s about piling up wins for HC Jerod Mayo’s team.

The Patriots host the Rams on Sunday with kickoff at 1:00 PM ET at Gillette Stadium.