New England Patriots defensive tackle Christian Barmore (90) reacts during the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Browns at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts on Oct. 26, 2025.

New England Patriots defensive tackle Christian Barmore did not play during the first quarter of the team's 32-13 Week 8 win over the Cleveland Browns.

Patriots coach Mike Vrabel confirmed during a postgame news conference it was his decision to leave the 26-year-old defensive tackle on the bench for the first 15 minutes of action Sunday.

"I just had to make a decision. My job is to protect the team," Vrabel said of benching Barmore. "So when there are actions that I don’t feel like are commensurate with what we want to do here, I gotta make a decision. And we move on."

Vrabel did not specifically outline what prompted him to bench Barmore. The 26-year-old didn't address the situation either, declining to speak to reporters in the Patriots locker room following the game.

Despite missing the first quarter, Barmore still played 30 snaps, good for the second-most among defensive tackle behind only Milton Williams (36). He generated one tackle and helped force a safety late in the game after getting pressure up the middle against Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel.

There did not appear to be any hard feelings after the game between Vrabel and Barmore. The defensive tackle gave the Vrabel a big hug while the coach was congratulating his players after the game, as captured by the Patriots' social media team.

And Vrabel made it clear during an Oct. 27 appearance on "The Greg Hill Show" there would be "no issues" between the two following the discipline.

"Just like everything else that I do – whether that's in life or whatever – we've moved on, we've addressed it," Vrabel said. "There's no issues moving forward with me or anyone else. I think that's how we have to operate."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why was Christian Barmore benched? 'To protect the team,' Mike Vrabel says

Reporting by Jacob Camenker, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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