FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Two weeks after getting diagnosed with blood clots, Patriots defensive lineman Christian Barmore was a spectator for Tuesday’s joint practice between New England and the Philadelphia Eagles.
It was an encouraging sign for the 25-year-old, who was evaluated and treated at a Massachusetts hospital. Fellow defensive lineman Davon Godchaux said it was the first time the team had seen Barmore since his setback.
“The most important thing is that he’s in great spirits. That’s my teammate, my brother,” Godchaux said.
Godchaux knows the feeling of missing substantial time on the football field. As a high school senior, he tore his ACL. Patriots center David Andrews can relate to what Barmore has been dealing with. Andrews missed the entire 2019 season because of blood clots in his lungs.
“It was good to see him. I remember going through all that stuff. I think it’s good for him to be around the guys. He’s probably missed it,” Andrews said.
Players from New England and Philadelphia both praised the value of Tuesday’s practice session.
“Felt good to compete against another team,” Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson said. “It’s great to gauge ourselves against someone else. We’ve been seeing the same defense for weeks. Going against someone who hasn’t seen our plays and seeing how they react, now it’s about putting it in our iPad and studying it.”
Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham said Tuesday was a good day for his team.
“There was good energy on both sides of the ball,” Graham said. “I know we have some stuff to work on, but I thought the guys were focused. Coming out and seeing the crowd definitely got us into it.”
Both head coaches — New England’s Jerod Mayo and Philadelphia’s Nick Sirianni — warned their players that there would be a zero-tolerance policy in the event a fight disrupted practice.
“You don’t fight in a real game. If you fight in a real game, you get fined. You get kicked out. It’s the same thing here,” Mayo said. “My message to the players, if you get in a fight out here, if you’re a starter, you’re going to play the whole preseason game. If you’re not a starter, you won’t play at all. That’s kind of my mindset with that.”
Sirianni had a similar message.
“No fights,” he said. “You’re coming out here to get better.”
There was one minor dustup during a kickoff drill, but the matter was quickly resolved and no players were ejected.
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