Outside of the draft and the initial wave of free agency, one of Eliot Wolf's biggest tasks running the Patriots was locking up interior defender Christian Barmore for the long haul. We saw glimpses of what he's truly capable of in years one and two, but he turned into a Pro Bowl-caliber game wrecker in 2023, culminating in a John Randle-esque outing in Denver on Christmas Eve.
I viewed three guys as natural early extension candidates for New England this spring: safety Jabrill Peppers, edge rusher Matt Judon, and then Barmore. You could argue they prioritized the most important of the three. Not only that but after not being guaranteed his own job security going into the 2024 season, Eliot Wolf has done more than enough to secure his spot as the showrunner for the Patriots for the foreseeable future.
Historic Extension
This was always going to happen sooner or later, but this Barmore deal is officially the largest non-Tom Brady deal in Patriots Franchise history. At $84,000,000 in base value (reported max of $92,000,000) over four years, his AAV ($23,000,000 based on that latter figure) now puts him as the seventh highest-paid IDL in the league, tied with the great DeForrest Buckner in Indianapolis, and only slightly off of Tennessee Titan Jeffery Simmons.
Now, onto the guarantees. We know that $41,800,000 of this deal for Barmore is guaranteed, which rounds up to about 45.3 percent. That's notably lower than some of the guys in that top 10 AAV range, which feels worth noting. It also puts him on track to have his GTD money run out after 2026, but I imagine they'll take care of that when the time comes. That is an excellent deal for all parties, with that still being said.
Dont Turn Your Back on the Wolfpac
Now that the Patriots have wrapped up a really productive free agency and draft period, it's time to turn to Eliot Wolf. It was widely reported earlier in the year that he wasn't guaranteed the Patriots GM job for the long haul, which, after the last three months, should be rectified immediately. Everyone would've preferred to see Calvin Ridley end up in Foxborough, but that was out of their hands. Outside of that, I don't think he's made many wrong steps, if any, in this whole process.
Wolf essentially kept a top-five defense intact with minimal losses, locked up every key member of the 2020 draft class on new deals, went offense-heavy in the draft, and now, with Mac Jones gone, locked up the centerpiece of the 2021 draft class, being Barmore. If anyone is running this ship outside of Eliot Wolf (or Matt Groh, for argument's sake) moving forward, that would be a catastrophic mistake and a massive indictment on the Krafts, who haven't exactly been stacking up PR wins this calendar year. Do the right thing, run with the Pac.
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