Christian Barmore is usually a fast talker, but on Monday, my goodness, the words tumbled out of his mouth at such a rate I had a hard time keeping up. It reminded me of the player we spoke to shortly after he signed a massive contract extension during the spring of 2024, the one who smiled brightly but promised big things ahead.
Instead, not too long thereafter, Barmore was sidelined with blood clots, and despite returning late in the year, he experienced a recurrence of the problem that cost him all but four games. To say it was hell would be an understatement.
“That stuff I went through, I would never want anybody to go through that,” said Barmore, adding, "Now I can breathe again.”
That much is clear. The 25-year-old still won't answer why he's confident his medical issues are a thing of the past but says he has a "green light." Barmore has certainly approached the spring that way. He is in better shape than he has ever been, having mentioned spending more time on cardio this off-season, and that has paid dividends. Now, the former Alabama star is pushing for a return to the levels he was at before his health scare, and for those of you who forgot, his 2023-24 season was good for 8.5 sacks, 49 total QB pressures (14th best in the league), and 64 total tackles.
“It’s really just a lot of fire in my heart, I could say that, because I feel like, after that situation, people forget who I am,” said Barmore. “So, I’m really bringing a lot of competitive with me ... just to prove that I’m still me, and I’m always going to be me.”
Mike Vrabel is counting on that defensive front to be a strength of the team, and having a healthy Barmore next to high-price free agent Milton Williams would be one hell of a building block.
"(He's) a player that is excited and that is coachable," said Vrabel. "Extremely coachable. He has some versatility. He's rushed inside. He's lined up outside. He's worked extremely hard. You’ve seen him chase and play with great effort down the field. I'm excited to see where he's at, but I've seen a lot of just improvement and a lot of engagement from him since the time that we've been here."
THEY'LL NEVER LEARN
This should be a time of great excitement for the Cincinnati Bengals. They have Joe Burrow, one of the top handful of QBs in the league. They have the best receiver in football in Ja'Marr Chase (he won the triple crown). They managed to sign Tee Higgins when the odds seemed stacked against them. And yet, as the team showed up for mandatory mini-camp, all the talk centered on who wasn't under contract, first-rounder Shemar Stewart, and another who is but is holding out, defensive end Trey Hendrickson. What. Are. They. Doing?
According to Stewart, who isn't practicing, the answer is simple:
“I’m 100 percent right,” he said. “I’m not asking for nothing y’all (Bengals) have never done before. But in y’all case, y’all just want to win an argument instead of winning more games.”
Stewart added none of his teammates are angered by his stance. In fact, just the opposite.
“It’s made it very easy when the people in here, in the locker room, say ‘you’re doing the right things,’ especially the star players,”
Meanwhile, Hendrickson is in the final year of his current deal and is scheduled to make $16 million. That's a far cry from where the league's highest-paid defensive ends are. Previously, the NFL's 2024-25 sack leader said that talks had become "personal." He will be fined more than $100K for skipping this portion of camp.
Burrow, who has exerted his influence on ownership to get the Chase and Higgins deals done, also continues to beat the drum for Hendrickson to get his. The star QB called his absence a distraction and admitted to being worried that the team could eventually move on.
"It's not one that I think would make us a better team, so we'll see what ends up happening," Burrow said. "I don't know what's going to happen. I wish I had an answer for you, but we'll see."
So, a Bengals' defense that was wretched last season, leading to the dismissal of coordinator Lou Anarumo, is currently without both players projected to start at defensive end for them. Training camp is six weeks away.
JUST HERE SO HE DOESN'T GET...
James Cook is no dummy. The Bills' running back wants a new contract, and it caused him to stay away from the 'voluntary' portion of this off-season. But guess who showed up for the mandatory portion of the proceedings? You guessed it, Mr. Cook. Why?
"I like my money,” Cook said. “I definitely do. So that’s why I’m here.”
Unlike Hendrickson or T.J. Watt in Pittsburgh, Cook made sure he wasn't eating any fines. He also insisted that he'll show up for training camp, although whether he'll actually practice is uncertain.
“I don’t know, man," he said. "We’ll see when camp comes.”
Cook is in the final year of his four-year rookie contract (he was a second-round pick). He is desiring somewhere around $15 million per season, but GM Brandon Beane has admitted the two sides are far apart. In the meantime, Beane and the Bills doled out sizeable extensions for DE Greg Rousseau, CB Christian Benford, WR Khalil Shakir and LB Terrel Bernard.
The argument for a deal is that Cook is one of the best backs in the league, having rushed for over 1,000 yards and tying for the league lead in touchdowns with 16. Against? He was part of a backfield-by-committee approach and only played in 47.5% of the snaps.
In addition, under Beane, the Bills have never given a big-money contract to a running back. They also drafted another runner, Ray Davis, in the fourth round two years ago and re-upped one of the best third-down backs in the game in Ty Johnson. Doesn't sound all that promising, does it?
“At this moment, I’m going to just keep working hard and let God take control and keep doing what I do," said Cook.
STILL HERE
Despite his desire to be traded, Kirk Cousins remains in Atlanta, still a member of the Falcons.
“Certainly, there were conversations in January, February, March, even April, but we’re moving forward now,” he said. “Those are things we talked about months ago. Now, we need to move forward. Right now, it’s about the situation I’m in and being the best I can be and hopefully, in February, we as an organization are holding up the Lombardi Trophy.”
Cousins is entering the 14th year of his career. He moved on from Minnesota when Atlanta offered him the bag, and he wisely took it, assuming he was not only the quarterback of the present but the future as well. Instead, shortly after signing Cousins, the Falcons drafted Michael Penix in round one of the 2024 draft. Needless to say, Cousins was displeased but handled himself in a professional manner, even after losing his job to Penix late in the season.
“I am really comfortable with Kirk because of who he is, the character, the person,” said Falcons head coach Raheem Morris. “We don’t worry about those things with Kirk. He’s going to go out and do whatever it takes to help this football team as long as he’s with us, and he’s with us. It’s been a less dramatic situation than it is from an outside-the-building standpoint.”
No one is crying for Cousins. The man is in the second year of a four-year deal that has already paid him $100 million. But the competitor in Cousins believes he can still be a starter in this league, and that's not going to happen if Penix is what the Falcons believe he is. With Aaron Rodgers having signed with the Steelers, all possible options to be the top guy have gone by the wayside. So, all he can do now is prepare the best he can.
“Depth is important at every position,” said Cousins. “Certainly, I’ll be doing all I can to stay ready. I think the organization would like to not need me, but I’ll do the best I can to stay ready.”
BAD LUCK
- Oh, what could have been. Eagles RB and NFL Offensive Player of the Year Saquon Barkley set a career-high with 13 rush TDs but was also tackled a league-high 11 times on the opponent’s 1-yard line in 2024. Those 11 plays occurred over nine drives (two instances of being tackled twice at the 1-yard line in the same drive) and resulted in seven Jalen Hurts rush TDs, one Hurts pass TD and one FG for the Eagles. Five players tied for second in this frustrating category with eight apiece: Bucky Irving, James Conner, David Montgomery, Chuba Hubbard and Brian Robinson.
- According to Next Gen Stats, Baker Mayfield and Justin Herbert each had 25 passes dropped in 2024. That was tied for most in the NFL. Burrow (24), Rodgers (24) and Jordan Love (23) rounded out the top five. Lucky them.
- Seahawks QB Geno Smith, now with the Raiders, had a league-high 249 passing yards erased by penalties.
- Per NGS, Caleb Williams dealt with 57 unblocked pressures and 13 unblocked sacks. Both were the best (worst?) in the league.
- Packers RB Josh Jacobs had 94 rushing yards negated by penalty (most in NFL) and three TDs negated by penalty (T-most in NFL) in 2024.
- Cursed? Commanders WR Olamide Zaccheaus matched his career high with three receiving TDs in 2024 but also tied Jacobs with three TDs negated by a penalty. That would have doubled his career high.
- Texans WR Nico Collins had 142 receiving yards negated by penalty in 2024 (most in the NFL). He was one of four players with 100+ receiving yards erased in such a manner (George Pickens: 122, Juwan Johnson: 117 and Jaxon Smith-Njigba: 114).
