FOXBORO >> It had been five months since Christian Barmore last surfaced.

Five months of silence, as he worked quietly to return to the field and everyone else wondered if he would ever play NFL football again. A recurrence of blood clot-related symptoms sidelined him last December, just five months after he was originally diagnosed with blood clots in late July. Internally, the Patriots have been cautiously optimistic about Barmore’s return, but assured of nothing.

On Thursday, in his first press conference since last season, Barmore all but threw caution to the wind.

The 25-year-old defensive tackle said he anticipates he will play Week 1.

“Yeah, that’s the goal. I just gotta keep following (the) medical team,” Barmore said of playing in the season opener, “but everything look real (good).”

Barmore added he has been cleared for football activity this spring and does not fear his blood clots returning.

The Patriots will continue Organized Team Activities (OTAs) next week with non-padded practices, including a Tuesday session that will be open to reporters. Whether Barmore participates or not, he is happy to be past the frustration that accompanied his physical symptoms last December.

“It was really confusing,” Barmore said. “Anger, and just really like mind-blowing because like I was putting in a lot of work here at that time. It’s like all that work I put in (was) for nothing. I was doing everything I could just to come back for this team last year. I don’t ever want to be in a situation — or (for) anybody in the world to go through that — because that stuff was no joke and was just a hard challenge.”

The fifth-year veteran plans to use last year’s lost season as motivation. This spring, Barmore and fellow defensive tackle Milton Williams have been competing to see who can show up earlier to the facility on days the Patriots are holding meetings and on-field workouts. Williams said they plan to be the foundation of coach Mike Vrabel’s new defense.

“We’re having conversations about (how) the defense is gonna start with what we do up front, and every day we come in, we’ve got to set the tone and everybody else is gonna follow,” Williams said Tuesday. “Me and (Barmore) are gonna set the table for the defense that we’re gonna be this year, and we’re gonna carry us throughout the year.”

Barmore missed the first 10 games last season after he was diagnosed just days into training camp. He returned for a mid-November home loss against the Rams and played in four games. He tallied six tackles and a sack, then landed back on the Non-Football Injury list. Teams do not have to pay players on the NFI list, but the Patriots chose to do so with Barmore, whose base salary was $1,822,128 last year.

His salary will jump to $10 million this season, thanks to the four-year, $84 million extension he signed after a breakout 2023 campaign that saw him emerge as one of the Patriots’ best players. In 2023, he totaled 8.5 sacks, 64 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and 16 QB hits, most of which were team highs.

“(I’m) really just enjoying the game that I love again,” Barmore said. “Just not worrying about the stuff that was holding me back from last year.”

The doctor is in

Two months ago, the Patriots signed linebacker Jack Gibbens to a free-agent deal.

Gibbens had one person to thank: Vrabel.

Gibbens started his career under Vrabel in Tennessee, where he entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2022. He played in just five games as a rookie, hardly making an impact. But he did leave an instant imprint, enough that Vrabel gave him a nickname before training camp had started that same season.

“He just started calling me Dr. Gibby, like in rookie minicamp,” Gibbens told reporters Thursday. “He likes to ask a lot of questions and quiz people, and I answered a few right. He started calling me ‘doctor.’ “

Gibbens, 26, has spent significant time with real doctors in recent months, as he continues to recover from an ankle injury that cut his 2024 season short. The Titans opted to part ways this offseason, despite his 44 tackles and half-sack recorded in 10 games last year. He ultimately signed a one-year, $1.3 million contract in New England.

Gibbens projects to fight for playing time behind inside linebackers Robert Spillane, another free-agent addition, and Christian Elliss, who re-signed as a restricted free agent this offseason despite receiving an offer sheet from the Raiders.

Pats sign RB

The Patriots signed former Bengals running back Trayveon Williams after a successful tryout this week and released veteran defensive tackle Eric Johnson II.

Williams, 28, has spent the last six seasons with the Bengals. He played in 17 games last season but only contributed on special teams. In his six-year career, he has 62 carries for 307 yards with 15 catches for 74 yards. He’s also returned 33 kicks for 743 yards.

Johnson, 26, was claimed off waivers from the Colts last season. He played in 11 games and registered 17 tackles.

Williams joins Antonio Gibson, Terrell Jennings, Rhamondre Stevenson and rookies TreVeyon Henderson, Brock Lampe and Lan Larison on the Patriots’ running back depth chart.

The Patriots are left with Barmore, Isaiah Iton, Jeremiah Pharms Jr., Jaquelin Roy, Khyiris Tonga, Milton Williams and rookies Joshua Farmer, Wilifried Pene and Jahvaree Ritzie at defensive tackle.