The 2026 Patriots Will Be Without Two Key Defensive Pieces in Week Four
Ian Rapoport reported that the New England Patriots will be without 2025 Pro Bowl cornerback Christian Gonzalez and 27-year-old defensive tackle Christian Barmore as they’ve been ruled out for New England’s Week Four matchup against the Buffalo Bills. The Patriots are trying to avoid going 1-3 after a horrendous showing against the Jacksonville Jaguars last week. This news about New England being without two key defensive pieces for Week Four pushes that 1-3 reality even closer to the surface.
Gonzalez and Barmore are both ruled out for Sunday’s matchup against the Bills with shoulder injuries. The 2025 Pro Bowl cornerback previously played in New England’s first three games of the season, recording eight combined tackles, seven solo, and one assisted, as well as five pass deflections. This will also be the first game missed by Barmore this year. The 27-year-old defensive tackle has put up four combined tackles, three solo and one assisted, plus one tackle for a loss of yardage, a sack, and a forced fumble.
These two key defensive pieces join offensive tackle Morgan Moses, who did not participate in practice Wednesday or Thursday. New England will be hurting Sunday without these guys. The Patriots’ defense is what kept them from being a 0-3 team, as they’ve looked miles above the offense, and the chemistry is there, not like the offense that’s severely struggled. Losing Gonzalez and Barmore will only weaken the Patriots’ defense substantially.
Other pieces in New England’s defense saw limited time in practice on Thursday, such as safeties Craig Woodson and Brenden Schooler, linebackers Dre'Mont Jones and Christian Elliss, and cornerback Channing Canada. The Patriots will have a long game ahead of them Sunday afternoon in Buffalo if they’re going to have a lot of big pieces of the defense out. At this point, it’s Drake Maye and the offense that really have to step up and deliver, because if Maye cannot get a handle on his offense and the confidence isn’t there, that could mean a big blowout win for the Bills. A 1-3 record could be at the Patriots' doorstep unexpectedly sooner than they could have anticipated.
