New England Patriots defensive end Christian Barmore Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Patriots DT Christian Barmore has negative MRI on knee

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 1/10/22

Good news for the New England Patriots, as standout defensive tackle Christian Barmore did not sustain a major knee injury in Sunday's regular-season finale, an MRI confirmed on Monday.

More good news: The MRI came back clean for Christian Barmore, source said. We’ll see on his practice status for this week, but no major injury revealed. https://t.co/iDki1kHOJf
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 10, 2022

Barmore, 22, had to be helped off the field late in Sunday's matchup with the Miami Dolphins after he collided with a teammate while trying to tackle Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. While initial tests showed Barmore's injury wasn't too severe, he still underwent an MRI on Monday.

It remains to be seen if Barmore will be available at practices this week following the fourth-quarter injury.

Here’s the Christian Barmore injury. Came down awkwardly on that right leg while chasing down Tua. pic.twitter.com/SW38VLtwaJ
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) January 10, 2022

The Patriots rallied in that fourth quarter but ultimately fell to the Dolphins 33-24, having dropped three of their last four games to end the regular season. They will now prep for next weekend's Wild Card game against the Buffalo Bills, with whom they split their regular-season series.

The Patriots enter the playoffs as the No. 6 seed in the AFC.

The loss drops them a spot and in my opinion gives them a tougher matchup with the Buffalo Bills.
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) January 10, 2022

New England and Buffalo haven't faced each other in the playoffs since 1963 when the Boston Patriots defeated the Bills 26-3 in the AFL divisional round.

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