The New England Patriots are having a busy weekend. Not only will they welcome the Los Angeles Rams to Gillette Stadium on Sunday, they also made a series of transactions on Saturday. Among them was waiving wide receiver Tyquan Thornton to open up a space on the active roster for defensive tackle Christian Barmore.
Let’s assess what the two moves mean for the Patriots in the grand scheme of things.
What waiving Tyquan Thornton means for the Patriots
Thinning out the herd at wide receiver: The writing was on the wall for the Patriots and Thornton. After the former second-round draft pick lost his starting position and was subsequently relegated to healthy scratch status in four of the last five games, it appeared the two sides had already reached the end of the road.
Now, they have officially pulled the plug. After heading into the weekend with seven wide receivers on their active roster, they are now down to six plus two more on the practice squad.
Per our regularly updated Patriots depth chart, the group now looks as follows:
53-man roster (6): Kayshon Boutte (9), DeMario Douglas (3), K.J. Osborn (2), Ja’Lynn Polk (1), Kendrick Bourne (84), Javon Baker (6 | KR)
Practice squad (2): John Jiles (83), Braylon Sanders (80)
Thornton opened the regular season as the Patriots’ No. 1 perimeter target, but that role has since gone to 2023 sixth-round draft pick Kayshon Boutte. Javon Baker offers additional depth behind him, with fellow rookie Ja’Lynn Polk also part of the mix as a Z/X-hybrid.
Promise unfulfilled: When Thornton joined the Patriots, one number was mentioned repeatedly: 4.28. His 40-yard dash was the fastest among all wide receivers at the 2022 Scouting Combine, and put him in the 98 percentile for players at his position.
In fairness, Thornton’s rare speed showed up from time to time. However, he never was able to put it all together and despite an intriguing athletic profile failed to earn a consistent role under three different offensive coordinators while in New England.
Another second-round wide receiver bust: Maybe the Patriots would be better off just addressing other positions in the second round. Thornton, after all, is joining a long list of wide receivers who flamed out after joining the team in that particular round of the draft.
He is now part of a group that also includes the likes of Aaron Dobson, Chad Jackson and Bethel Johnson. For comparison, the only second-round wideout who turned into a hit this century was 2002 selection Deion Branch. The jury is still out on this year’s second-round pick, Ja’Lynn Polk.
The 2022 draft classes continues to take hits: With Thornton now off the roster, the Patriots’ 10-player draft class that year has now been reduced to three: offensive lineman Cole Strange, who is currently on the physically unable to perform list, as well as cornerback/punt returner Marcus Jones and practice squad running back Kevin Harris.
In total, the group can be broken down as follows:
- 53-man roster (1): CB Marcus Jones (3-85)
- PUP (1): OL Cole Strange (1-29)
- Practice squad (1): RB Kevin Harris (6-183)
- With another team (5): CB Jack Jones (4-121), RB Pierre Strong Jr. (4-127), QB Bailey Zappe (4-137), OL Chasen Hines (6-210), OT Andrew Stueber (7-245)
- Currently unsigned (2): WR Tyquan Thornton (2-50), DT Sam Roberts (6-200)
Thornton’s status is subject to change in the coming days considering that he will have to pass through waivers and could be a candidate to return via the New England practice squad. However, even if he is retained the 2022 draft is looking bleak.
Some minor salary cap savings: Given the timing of his release, the Patriots are still on the hook for Thornton’s $74,792 salary this week. The remaining portion of his salary, however, will no longer be counted against New England’s books to create cap savings totaling $523,545. The team also freed itself from his $1,666,890 salary in 2025.
What will remain are two separate signing bonus prorations now treated as dead cap. The total sum is just over $1.1 million split up in two installments of $577,520 both this year and next.
What activating Christian Barmore means for the Patriots
A remarkable comeback: After some unfamiliar sensations, Barmore was diagnosed with blood clots and moved to the non-football injury list shortly thereafter, on July 28. Not even four full months later, he has been cleared for full-contact NFL action again.
While it remains to be seen just how quickly he will return to his usual role as a three-down defender along the Patriots interior defensive line, his quick turnaround is nothing short of remarkable.
Managing expectation: Barmore immediately resuming his former role on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams might not be realistic. While he has been given the green light to return to action, he only practiced once this week and has not played competitive football since January.
As defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington said, expectations need to be managed accordingly.
“It’s a blessing to be out there on the field. That’s what the focus needs to be on,” Covington said after his return to practice on Thursday. “That’s the first step, and then go from there. Let’s take it one day at a time, one week at a time, one game at a time. That’s really the story.”
Head coach Jerod Mayo echoed those thoughts, while giving some careful insight into Barmore’s potential progression.
“For a guy who hasn’t really put on pads since January, it’s tough,” Mayo said on Friday. “You never want to just throw a guy out there coming off an injury, regardless of what the injury is, throw him out there for 50 plays. That’s unrealistic. I think we see what he can handle, and we’ll build from there.”
Blue-chip addition on defense: When the Patriots signed Barmore to a four-year, $84 million contract extension in March they made it clear how they feel about him and his role. It is not hard to see why, either: Barmore is one of the best young interior defensive linemen in football and a capable player against both the run and the pass.
As such, he is a blue-chip addition to a team lacking high-end talent across the board. Accordingly, the Patriots should be feeling good about their depth along the defensive line:
53-man roster (8): Christian Barmore (90), Davon Godchaux (92), Keion White (99), Deatrich Wise Jr. (91), Daniel Ekuale (95), Jeremiah Pharms Jr. (98), Jaquelin Roy (94), Eric Johnson (96)
Practice squad (1): Marcus Harris (58)
Saturday’s activation is a step in the right direction for Barmore, and he will eventually return to being the three-down player he is paid to be.
“Barmore coming back or being able to play at some point this season is going to definitely pay huge dividends for us,” said Jerod Mayo.
The 25-year-old has the potential to be a difference-maker for New England’s defense whenever on the field, and regardless of situation. Under normal circumstances, he serve as a big-bodied space eater next to Davon Godchaux on early downs, and a disruptive force in the pass rush to team up with current Patriots sack leaders Keion White and Deatrich Wise Jr.
Salary cap impact: Being back on the 53-man roster is a step toward returning to the field, and there is some optimism he will play a reduced role on Sunday. If indeed made part of the game day roster versus the Rams, New England would feel the impact both right now and in the future: Barmore, after all, has a total of $1.275 million in per game roster bonuses — $75,000 per game — embedded into the 2025 portion of his recent contract extension.
A majority of that sum will be considered not likely to be earned (NLTBE) for the purpose of calculating his cap hit next season; so far, Barmore has missed 10 games meaning that his 2025 cap number will be reduced by at least $750,000. However, up to $525,000 are now officially in play for the likely to be earned (LTBE) categorization that would in fact hit the Patriots’ books next year.
Regardless of what will happen over the final six in-game opportunities, the $15.1 million cap hit currently projected for Barmore next season will not stand. It will be no higher than $14.35 million, with the difference between those two numbers possibly then moving to the 2026 cap depending on how many games he will actually play in 2025.
