Welcome to the Friday Five!
Every week during the NFL regular season, I share five Patriots-related thoughts on Friday to recap the week that was in Foxboro and look ahead to kickoff.
Ready, set, football.
1. Barmore, Henderson latest
Strange times in Foxboro.
TreVeyon Henderson has been absent for more than a week now, listed with an illness on every injury report since last Thursday. Henderson has not been seen in the locker room during media access this week, and one veteran player told me he just needs to feel better and come back to the team.
Separately, I can confirm what ESPN’s Mike Reiss shared Thursday on 98.5 The Sports Hub that Henderson’s absence is due to something he’s managing, and that absence may be linked to facing heightened adversity.
“I think there’s been a lot of challenges for him that maybe he hasn’t faced in his young life and career,” he said. “And so, to me, that all might be tied together to what he’s managing.”
Already this year, Henderson has already dealt with two ankle injuries and been out-played by fellow backup running back Corey Kiner, whom the Patriots acquired via trade in late August. Henderson rushed for just nine yards on three carries in his last game appearance, a Thursday night loss at Chicago on Oct. 22. He hardly touched the ball in the first half.
Signing practice-squad running back Lan Larison to the active roster last Saturday, instead of elevating him on game day, was perhaps the first sign of the Patriots’ preparation for an extended absence. It’s unclear how long the Patriots expect Henderson to be out, but he is now tracking to miss a second straight game Sunday. The team’s depth with Larison would also allow the Patriots to play in Germany without him next week, and perhaps beyond.
Then, there’s Christian Barmore.
The 27-year-old defensive tackle is agitated by his inclusion in a trade report from Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. Last Sunday, Breer described Barmore as “a player that very clearly is available,” and cited a fourth-round pick as a price the Patriots would be willing to accept in a trade. To that, I say: fat chance.
Barmore’s trade value was in the neighborhood of a sixth-round pick last February, according to two executives I spoke with at the NFL scouting combine. Since then, Barmore’s lost his starting job, and his play has waned. Any team that acquires Barmore would also take on more than $6 million in salary. He’s scheduled to make $18 million and $19 million in 2027 and 2028, respectively, though none of that money is guaranteed.
If he’s not traded, Barmore will be a prime cut candidate this offseason to create cap space for a team that is close to the cap right now, and has decent depth behind him. Not to mention, his nagging knee injury and multiple run-ins with the law, including a misdemeanor charge of assault and battery on a family/household member last year. According to court documents related to that charge, his on-again, off-again girlfriend told police she was fearful of Barmore and his “handlers,” and that Barmore threatened to have his family members assault her.
The Patriots, it appears, want out of the Barmore business. I am increasingly skeptical they will be able to part with him by Tuesday’s trade deadline, unless they are willing to eat some of his salary. But the question of parting is clearly when, not if.
2. ‘Hang in there’
There’s a universe in which Drake Maye is not a top-5 quarterback this season under pressure by just about every metric: completion percentage, yards per attempt, success rate, Expected Points Added (EPA) per play, etc.
In that universe, the Patriots are not 5-3. That’s how much Maye’s ability to stay calm when hit or hurried has meant to an offense missing key pieces at literally every position, particularly wide receiver and offensive line. Maye has thrown six touchdowns under pressure this year. No one in the NFL has more than him.
On Wednesday, he credited his dad, Mark, a former college quarterback at the University of North Carolina, for helping him learn how to navigate those moments.
New York Jets defensive tackle T'vondre Sweat got a hold of New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye’s shirt during the third quarter of the game at Gillette Stadium. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)“He used to rip me if I started looking down and looking at the rush. I realized at a young age that you’re just going to have to take some hits and stand in there, and it’s part of this position: getting back up, taking hits and delivering shots,” Maye said before later adding: “I think that’s a little bit of credit to my dad and just knowing at a young age, you’ve got to, “Man, you better hang in there.” That’s what he always used to tell me, ‘Hang in there,’ and give it to the guys that run better than I do.”
3. Williams check-in
Patriots assistant head coach Terrell Williams was the team’s defensive coordinator for one game last year before he stepped away following a cancer diagnosis. Nowadays, he’s stepping into just about every meeting and corner of the building.
“You quickly realize he’s kind of got his ear to the streets everywhere,” Pats cornerbacks coach Justin Hamilton said.
Williams’s successor, first-year defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr, explained Thursday how Williams is a friend and mentor to him and many others at team headquarters.
“He touches all the players on both sides of the ball to get a feel for them and help them grow,” Kuhr said. “And especially with these rookies, what they have to go through, he’s just a great sounding board, great resource, (gives) advice, helps with the game-planning, but also does a good job of saying, like, ‘This is your show.’ ”
Kuhr called Williams a positive influence on his psyche, someone who instills confidence and provides encouragement.
4. Favorite Gronk moment
Rob Gronkowski is returning this Sunday to be inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame.
I covered Gronk for just one season, his last with the Patriots, a memorable Super Bowl campaign when he was often banged up or unavailable but still himself. His final catch set up the only touchdown in a 13-3 win over the Rams in Super Bowl LIII, arguably the most memorable play he made that season. But I will always treasure another.
Fourth quarter. Fifty-four seconds left in the AFC Championship Game, down by four, facing third-and-5 at Kansas City’s 29-yard line. Tom Brady had just thrown an interception negated by Dee Ford’s infamous offside penalty, and, with new life, lobbed a long sideline pass for Gronkowski. It was a prayer of a parabola Gronk answered by leaping up and over Chiefs safety Eric Berry for a catch that furthered the Patriots’ comeback in arguably the greatest game they’ve played over the last 10 years.
The catch was vintage Gronk at a time his play had faded in the twilight of his New England career; one last flicker of brilliance from the most dominant tight end the NFL has ever seen.
5. Did you know?
Since Patriots wide receiver Kyle Williams entered the league as a third-round rookie last year, he leads all NFL wide receivers in touchdown percentage, scoring on 29.4% of his career catches. (Minimum of 25 targets.)
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