Gary Barnidge

Gary Barnidge

refer to caption

Barnidge in 2010
No. 82Cleveland Browns
Position: Tight end
Personal information
Date of birth: (1985-09-22) September 22, 1985
Place of birth: Bowling Green, Kentucky
Height: 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight: 250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High school: Middleburg (FL)
College: Louisville
NFL draft: 2008 / Round: 5 / Pick: 141
Career history
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2015
Receptions: 123
Receiving yards: 1,646
Receiving touchdowns: 12
Player stats at NFL.com

Gary Michael Barnidge (born September 22, 1985) is an American football tight end for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Louisville.

College career

Barnidge played college football at Louisville where he played in 48 games including 29 starts and recorded 108 receptions for 1,491 yards and 17 touchdowns. He majored in sports administration.

Professional career

Carolina Panthers

Barnidge was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the fifth round (141st overall) in the 2008 NFL Draft.

Barnidge's main impact came on special-teams, in 2010 he lead the team with 17 special-teams tackles.[1] He would miss the whole 2011 NFL season with a broken ankle suffered in a preseason practice. In 2012, Barnidge recorded his first professional touchdown reception against the Philadelphia Eagles on a 24-yard pass from Cam Newton.

Cleveland Browns

On March 14, 2013, Barnidge was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an unrestricted free agent.[2] During the 2015 NFL season, Gary 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). His nine touchdowns tied a Hall of Fame tight end Ozzie Newsome's franchise record set in 1979. He was voted the best player on the Browns, and the most exciting player to watch in the NFL.[3] On December 10, 2015, Barnidge was signed to a 3-year extension worth around $12 million.[4] After the 2015 season, Barnidge made his first Pro Bowl, being voted as an alternate.

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.[5]

While a member of the Cleveland Browns, Barnidge was on two episodes of Total Divas, an E! Network TV show about WWE Divas going on dates with Rosa Mendes and Summer Rae.[6]

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, January 30, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.