Gary Barnidge

Gary Barnidge

Barnidge with the Browns in 2016
No. 82
Position:	Tight end
Personal information
Born:	(1985-09-22) September 22, 1985 (age 39) Bowling Green, Kentucky. U.S.
Height:	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight:	250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High school:	Middleburg (Middleburg, Florida)
College:	Louisville (2004–2007)
NFL draft:	2008 / round: 5 / pick: 141
Career history
Carolina Panthers (2008–2012) Cleveland Browns (2013–2016)
Career highlights and awards
Pro Bowl (2015) First-team All-Big East (2007)
Career NFL statistics
Receptions: 178 Receiving yards: 2,258 Receiving touchdowns: 14
Player stats at PFR

Gary Michael Barnidge (born September 22, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL draft (picked 141st overall). He played college football for the Louisville Cardinals. He also played in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns.

Early life

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

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.^[10]

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.^[11] In the 2009 season, he had 12 receptions for 242 yards.^[12] In 2010, he appeared in all 16 games.^[13] He missed the whole 2011 NFL season with a broken ankle suffered in a preseason practice.^[14] On 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]

NFL 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! reality television show about female WWE wrestlers showcasing their personal and professional lives, while in and out of the ring. During season 3 of Total Divas, he went on dates with former WWE superstars Rosa Mendes and Summer Rae.^[30] He also appeared on an episode of Impact Wrestling in 2017, assisting fellow NFL player DeAngelo Williams.^[31] Barnidge also competed with Williams on The Amazing Race 32 and finished in fourth place.^[32][33]

References

1. "Middleburg welcomes back Gary Barnidge". Clay Today. June 22, 2016. Archived from the original on March 27, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
2. "Gary Barnidge College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
3. "Gary Barnidge 2004 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
4. "Gary Barnidge 2005 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
5. "Gary Barnidge 2006 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
6. "Middle Tennessee State at Louisville Box Score, September 6, 2007". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
7. "Gary Barnidge 2007 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
8. "Cleveland Browns: Gary Barnidge". Cleveland Browns. Archived from the original on March 18, 2013. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
9. "2008 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on November 3, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
10. Gilmartin, Matthew (July 9, 2008). "2008 NFL Draft: Carolina Panthers - Part II". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on June 10, 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
11. "Gary Barnidge 2008 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 29, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
12. "Gary Barnidge 2009 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 29, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
13. "Gary Barnidge 2010 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 28, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
14. Withers, Tom (December 10, 2015). "Big catch: Browns sign tight end Gary Barnidge to extension". KSL.com. Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 27, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
15. "Carolina Panthers at Philadelphia Eagles - November 26th, 2012". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on May 29, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
16. "Gary Barnidge 2012 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 28, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
17. Pokorny, Chris (March 13, 2013). "Browns Agree to Terms With TE Gary Barnidge". Dawgs By Nature. Archived from the original on June 10, 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
18. "Gary Barnidge 2013 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 28, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
19. "Gary Barnidge 2014 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 28, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
20. "Gary Barnidge 2015 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 28, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
21. "Gary Barnidge Advanced Stats and Metrics Profile: Touchdowns". PlayerProfiler.com. Archived from the original on August 26, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
22. "Browns TE Gary Barnidge has some of the best hands in the NFL". ClevelandBrowns.com. June 9, 2015. Archived from the original on June 11, 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
23. Cabot, Mary Kay (December 11, 2015). "Gary Barnidge's meeting with Jimmy Haslam led to deal". cleveland.com. Archived from the original on June 11, 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
24. "2015 NFL Pro Bowlers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
25. "2016 NFL Top 100". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
26. Orr, Conor (June 2, 2016). "Browns TE Gary Barnidge has sports hernia surgery". NFL.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
27. "Gary Barnidge 2016 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 28, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
28. Gribble, Andrew (April 28, 2017). "Browns release TE Gary Barnidge". ClevelandBrowns.com. Archived from the original on June 1, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
29. "AFWB Foundation Inc". American Football Without Barriers. Archived from the original on April 2, 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
30. Traina, Jimmy (October 13, 2014). "Browns TE Gary Barnidge dates two WWE divas on reality show". FOX Sports @TheBuzzer. Fox Sports Interactive Media. Archived from the original on January 21, 2015. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
31. Fiorvanti, Tom (June 10, 2017). "DeAngelo Williams set to make pro wrestling debut". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on June 10, 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
32. Bloom, Mike (September 22, 2020). "The Amazing Race Season 32: Everything We Know So Far (Including the Full Cast of Racers)". Parade. Archived from the original on September 15, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
33. Iyer, Vinnie (December 10, 2020). "DeAngelo Williams' reaction to 'The Amazing Race' elimination wasn't so amazing". Sporting News. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2020.

External links

• Gary Barnidge on Twitter
• Louisville Cardinals bio