FOXBORO — Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo addressed the media Friday for the first time since defensive tackle Christian Barmore was placed back on the non-football illness list with recurring symptoms from blood clots.

Barmore missed the first 10 weeks of the season on the NFI list after being diagnosed with blood clots in late July.

“Yeah, I feel for Bar,” Mayo said Friday. “He did everything right, and for those things to pop back up, just unfortunate. Again, I look at these guys as men first before football players, and there’s nothing more important than the health of our individuals.”

Mayo was asked if there’s any concern over Barmore being able to play football in the future due to the recurring blood clots.

“We’re not having those conversations right now. It’s again just about getting him healthy now,” Mayo said.

The Patriots’ statement Thursday said, in part, “We appreciate everything Christian did to return to the team this season, but our top priority is Christian’s health and wellbeing. We know that he will continue to receive tremendous care and we want to ensure that he gets the time he needs to come back stronger than ever.”

Barmore signed a four-year, $84 million contract extension this offseason that included an $18 million signing bonus. Teams do not need to pay players on the NFI list, but the Patriots chose to do so with Barmore this season.

Barmore’s salary is just $1,822,128 this season. It jumps up to $10 million next season when the extension fully kicks in.

He registered six tackles with a sack in four games this season after a breakout 2023 campaign that saw him emerge as one of the Patriots’ best players with 8.5 sacks, 64 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and 16 QB hits.