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Gary Barnidge
File:Gary Barnidge 2016.jpg
Barnidge with the Browns in 2016
No. 82     
Tight end
Personal information
Date of birth: (1985-09-22) September 22, 1985 (age 38)
Place of birth: Bowling Green, Kentucky
Career information
College: Louisville
NFL Draft: 2008 / Round: 5 / Pick: 141
No regular season or postseason appearances
Career history
* Carolina Panthers ( 2008 2012)
Career highlights and awards
* Pro Bowl (2015)
Receptions     178
Receiving yards     2,258
Receiving touchdowns     14
Stats at NFL.com
Stats at pro-football-reference.com

Gary Michael Barnidge (born September 22, 1985) is a former American football tight end. He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft (picked 141st overall). He played college football at Louisville. He has also played for Cleveland Browns.

Early years[]

Barnidge was born on September 22, 1985 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. He attended and played high school football at Middleburg High School.[1]

College career[]

Barnidge played college football at Louisville from 2004 to 2007.[2] As a freshman, he had seven receptions for 85 yards and four touchdowns.[3] As a sophomore, he had 17 receptions for 240 yards and two touchdowns.[4] As a junior, he had 31 receptions for 511 yards and four touchdowns.[5] As a senior, he had 53 receptions for 655 yards and seven touchdowns. In the game against Middle Tennessee State, he had four receptions for 126 yards and two touchdowns to go along with a fumble recovery for a touchdown.[6][7] He played in 48 games, including 29 starts and recorded 108 receptions for 1,491 yards and 17 touchdowns. He majored in sports administration.[8]

Professional career[]

Carolina Panthers[]

File:Gary Barnidge Carolina Panthers 2010.JPG

Barnidge signing autographs in 2010.

Barnidge was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the fifth round (141st overall) in the 2008 NFL Draft.[9] The Panthers previously acquired the pick from the New York Jets in a trade that sent Kris Jenkins to the Jets.

With the Panthers, Barnidge's main impact came on special-teams. In the 2008 season, he appeared in fifteen games in the regular season and the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the Arizona Cardinals.[10] In the 2009 season, he had 12 receptions for 242 yards.[11] In 2010, he appeared in all 16 games[12] and led the team with 17 special-teams tackles.[13] He missed the whole 2011 NFL season with a broken ankle suffered in a preseason practice.[14] In November 26, 2012, Barnidge recorded his first professional touchdown reception against the Philadelphia Eagles on a 24-yard pass from Cam Newton.[15] Overall, he finished the 2012 season with six receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown.[16]

Cleveland Browns[]

On March 14, 2013, Barnidge was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an unrestricted free agent.[17] In the 2013 season, he had 13 receptions for 127 yards and two touchdowns.[18] In the 2014 season, he had 13 receptions for 156 yards.[19] During the 2015 season, Barnidge had a breakout year and finished with 79 receptions for 1,043 receiving yards and nine touchdowns (he had 44 receptions, 603 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns in his previous seven seasons combined).[20] His nine touchdowns tied Hall of Fame tight end Ozzie Newsome's franchise record set in 1979 and ranked No. 4 among all NFL tight ends in 2015.[21] He was voted the best player on the Browns.[22] On December 10, 2015, Barnidge was signed to a 3-year extension worth around $12 million.[23] After the 2015 season, Barnidge made his first Pro Bowl, being voted as an alternate.[24] He was ranked 94th on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016.[25]

On June 2, 2016, Barnidge underwent a sports hernia surgery.[26] He started all 16 games in 2016, catching 55 passes for 612 yards and two touchdowns.[27]

On April 28, 2017, Barnidge was released by the Browns.[28]

Career statistics[]

Year Team GP GS Receiving Fumbles
Rec Yds Avg Lng TD FUM Lost
2008 CAR 15 0 0 0 -- 0 0 0 0
2009 CAR 16 3 12 242 20.2 55 0 1 0
2010 CAR 16 3 0 0 -- 0 0 0 0
2011 CAR Did not play – Injured
2012 CAR 16 5 6 78 13.0 24 1 0 0
2013 CLE 16 12 13 127 9.8 40 2 0 0
2014 CLE 13 2 13 156 12.0 28 0 0 0
2015 CLE 16 13 79 1,043 13.2 40 9 0 0
2016 CLE 16 16 55 612 11.1 43 2 0 0
Total 124 54 178 2,258 12.7 55 14 1 0

Personal life[]

In 2011, Barnidge, along with friend and Louisville Cardinal teammate Breno Giacomini, then of the Seattle Seahawks, started a not-for-profit organization called American Football without Barriers. The organization hosted its first camp in China in March 2013.[29]

Barnidge has appeared on two episodes of Total Divas, an E! Network TV show about WWE Divas going on dates with Rosa Mendes and Summer Rae.[30] He also appeared on an episode of Impact Wrestling in 2017, assisting fellow NFL player DeAngelo Williams.[31]

References[]

  1. "Middleburg welcomes back Gary Barnidge" (in en). Clay Today. http://www.claytodayonline.com/stories/middleburg-welcomes-back-gary-barnidge,2742.
  2. "Gary Barnidge College Stats" (in en). https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/gary-barnidge-1.html.
  3. "Gary Barnidge 2004 Game Log" (in en). https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/gary-barnidge-1/gamelog/2004/.
  4. "Gary Barnidge 2005 Game Log" (in en). https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/gary-barnidge-1/gamelog/2005/.
  5. "Gary Barnidge 2006 Game Log" (in en). https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/gary-barnidge-1/gamelog/2006/.
  6. "Middle Tennessee State at Louisville Box Score, September 6, 2007" (in en). https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/boxscores/2007-09-06-louisville.html.
  7. "Gary Barnidge 2007 Game Log" (in en). https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/gary-barnidge-1/gamelog/2007/.
  8. "Cleveland Browns: Gary Barnidge". http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/team/roster/Gary-Barnidge/888027c1-3c8e-4bc2-a336-50004354ddc5.
  9. "2008 NFL Draft Listing" (in en). https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2008/draft.htm.
  10. "Gary Barnidge 2008 Game Log" (in en). https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BarnGa01/gamelog/2008/.
  11. "Gary Barnidge 2009 Game Log" (in en). https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BarnGa01/gamelog/2009/.
  12. "Gary Barnidge 2010 Game Log" (in en). https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BarnGa01/gamelog/2010/.
  13. "Cleveland Browns: Gary Barnidge". http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/team/roster/gary-barnidge/888027c1-3c8e-4bc2-a336-50004354ddc5/.
  14. "Big catch: Browns sign tight end Gary Barnidge to extension" (in en). https://www.ksl.com/?sid=37710912.
  15. "Carolina Panthers at Philadelphia Eagles - November 26th, 2012" (in en). https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201211260phi.htm.
  16. "Gary Barnidge 2012 Game Log" (in en). https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BarnGa01/gamelog/2012/.
  17. "Browns agree to terms with Barnidge". http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/article-1/Browns-agree-to-terms-with-Barnidge/acf8f7c6-4f25-4bb9-96ca-dea2a655d793.
  18. "Gary Barnidge 2013 Game Log" (in en). https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BarnGa01/gamelog/2013/.
  19. "Gary Barnidge 2014 Game Log" (in en). https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BarnGa01/gamelog/2014/.
  20. "Gary Barnidge 2015 Game Log" (in en). https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BarnGa01/gamelog/2015/.
  21. "Gary Barnidge Advanced Stats and Metrics Profile: Touchdowns". PlayerProfiler.com. http://www.playerprofiler.com/nfl/gary-barnidge.
  22. "Browns TE Gary Barnidge has some of the best hands in the NFL". http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/article-5/Browns-TE-Gary-Barnidge-has-some-of-the-best-hands-in-the-NFL-/4880db39-57ae-4344-9b2a-996fd7f38c54.
  23. "Tight end Gary Barnidge's meeting with Browns owner Jimmy Haslam led to 3-year extension". http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2015/12/tight_end_gary_barnidge_let_br.html.
  24. "2015 NFL Pro Bowlers" (in en). https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2015/probowl.htm.
  25. "'Top 100 Players of 2016': No. 94 Gary Barnidge". http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-top100-2016/0ap3000000660062/Top-100-Players-of-2016-No-94-Gary-Barnidge.
  26. Orr, Conor. "Browns TE Gary Barnidge has sports hernia surgery". NFL. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000666425/article/browns-te-gary-barnidge-has-sports-hernia-surgery. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  27. "Gary Barnidge 2016 Game Log" (in en). https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BarnGa01/gamelog/2016/.
  28. Gribble, Andrew (April 28, 2017). "Browns release TE Gary Barnidge". http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/article-5/Browns-release-TE-Gary-Barnidge/1d256b6a-29b9-4427-b6fc-ec6ccce87a9e.
  29. Codrops. "AFWB Foundation Inc. :: American Football Without Barriers". http://www.afwbcamp.com.
  30. Traina, Jimmy (October 13, 2014). "Browns TE Gary Barnidge dates two WWE divas on reality show". FOX Sports @TheBuzzer (Fox Sports Interactive Media). http://www.foxsports.com/buzzer/story/summer-rae-rosa-mendes-gary-barnidge-total-divas-101314. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  31. "DeAngelo Williams set to make pro wrestling debut". http://www.espn.com/wwe/story/_/id/19598514/nfl-deangelo-williams-make-professional-wrestling-debut-impact-wrestling-pay-per-view.

External links[]

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