Connor Thomas Barth (born April 11, 1986) is a former
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter.
S ...
who played ten seasons in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...
(NFL). He played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...
at
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...
and was signed by the
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The t ...
as an
undrafted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...
in
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
.
Barth has been a member of the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
,
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
,
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
,
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
and the
Chicago Bears. He currently holds the highest field goal percentage in Buccaneers franchise history, a record he achieved during the
2011 season. He also broke another franchise record during the
2012 season in which he made 25 consecutive field goals. He is also the most accurate kicker in Buccaneers history, converting 83.8 percent of his field goal attempts (114-of-136) with the club. His 114 field goals, 135 PATs, and 447 points all rank third in franchise history. Barth holds the Buccaneers franchise record for consecutive field goals made with 25.
Barth is currently a real estate agent for Intracoastal Realty in
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States.
With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is t ...
.
Personal life
Barth is the son of Thomas and Susan Barth. His younger brother, Casey, was also a placekicker for the
North Carolina Tar Heels football
The North Carolina Tar Heels football team represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the sport of American football or Gridiron Football. The Tar Heels play in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate ...
team.
Early years
Barth learned to kick under the tutelage of Brian Cardone in Wilmington, North Carolina. Barth was named to the first-team high school
All-America
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
by ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...
'' during his prep career at
John T. Hoggard High School
John T. Hoggard High School is a public high school in the New Hanover County School System in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Naming
John T. Hoggard is the eponym for Hoggard High School. Hoggard had an active career in education, beginning with h ...
in Wilmington. He played in the
U.S. Army All-American Bowl, where he was named the top kicker in the combine. He was selected to the inaugural
EA Sports
EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network ...
High School All-America Team. Out of high school, Barth was considered one of the best kickers in the country by most recruiting services. He set the North Carolina state record for
field goals
A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...
in a season and career with 38. ''
The Charlotte Observer
''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American English-language newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. As of 2020, it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. I ...
'' ranked him among the top 25 overall players in the state of North Carolina. In 2002, he had a string of 40 consecutive
extra point
The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...
s. Playing as a
punter and a kicker, Barth made 11 of 14 field goals that year. He also was 53 of 54 on extra point attempts as a Junior.
He kicked 75 percent of his
kickoffs into the
end zone
The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field. ...
. As a punter, he punted 42 times for a 38.2-yard average.
College career
In 2004, as a freshman at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
, Barth was named second-team freshman All-America by the
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel.
History
Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...
recruiting network. He was also an honorable-mention All-
ACC member. In 2004, he made 14 of 18 field goals and 35 of 37 extra point attempts. He is well known for a 42-yard game-winning field goal as time expired against #3
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
. He made his first career field goal on a 22-yard attempt at
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
.
[University of North Carolina Tar Heels Official Athletic Site]
In 2005, as a sophomore, Barth made 11 of 21 field goals.
He struggled throughout the season, but connected on eight of his last ten field goal attempts.
![Connor Barth nails the field goal](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Connor_Barth_nails_the_field_goal.jpg)
In 2006, as a junior, Barth made all 10 field goal attempts and 24 of 26 extra points. He was the only kicker in the country with a perfect field goal percentage. In a game against
North Carolina State
North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The unive ...
, Barth made a 54-yarder that was his career best and tied for the second-longest in school history.
In 2007, as a senior, Barth made 19 of 22 field goals and 30 of his final 33 attempts, dating back to his sophomore season. He earned first-team All-ACC honors from Rivals.com and honorable mention all-conference honors from the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
.
Against Miami, Barth kicked a career-high four field goals in the 33-27 win and was named the ACC
special teams
In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...
player of the week.
He graduated UNC with a Communications major.
Barth previously held the
UNC record for most made field goals (54). His brother, Casey Barth, now holds the current record (55)
Statistics
Professional career
Kansas City Chiefs
Barth was signed as an undrafted free agent by the
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The t ...
in 2008.
Barth made his NFL debut on October 26, 2008, against the
New York Jets.
Barth failed to beat out
Nick Novak for the team's placekicking job and was waived by the Chiefs on August 29, 2008.
Barth was re-signed by the team on October 21 after Novak was released, becoming the seventh kicker on the Chiefs roster in two years. In his first NFL game, Barth went 1-for-1 on field goal attempts and 3-for-3 on extra points. He remained perfect up until a week 15 game (going in he was 9-for-9) where he missed two field goal attempts, including what would have been a game winning 50 yard field goal as time expired.
Barth was waived by the Chiefs on July 28, 2009, in favor of
Ryan Succop
Ryan Barrow Succop ( "suck-up"; born September 19, 1986) is an American football placekicker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). Succop played college football at South Carolina and was the 2009 Mr. Irrelevant by ...
.
Miami Dolphins
Barth was signed by the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
on August 10, 2009 to compete with incumbent
Dan Carpenter
Daniel Roy Carpenter (born November 25, 1985) is a former American football placekicker. He was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2008 after playing college football for the University of Montana. He has also played for ...
. However, the Dolphins waived Barth on August 29.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
![Connor Barth attempts field goal 8 November 2015 151108-F-ID984-017](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Connor_Barth_attempts_field_goal_8_November_2015_151108-F-ID984-017.jpg)
Barth was signed by the Buccaneers on November 3, 2009 after the Buccaneers released
Shane Andrus
Shane Andrus (born October 2, 1980) is a former American football placekicker. He was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at Murray State.
Andrus has also been a member of the New Y ...
. Barth tied an NFL record held by three other kickers when he made three field goals of 50 yards or more against the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
on November 15, 2009; the kicks were from 51, 50, and 54 yards. The record is shared with
Morten Andersen
Morten Andersen (born 19 August 1960), nicknamed the "Great Dane", is a Danish former American football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 25 seasons, most notably with the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons. ...
,
Neil Rackers,
Kris Brown, and
Josh Scobee
Joshua Taylor Scobee (born June 23, 1982) is a former American football placekicker. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fifth round of the 2004 NFL draft. He also played for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football at L ...
.
On December 27, 2009, Barth kicked a 47-yard overtime field goal to give the Buccaneers the win over the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
, 20–17.
On October 10, 2010, Barth kicked a 31-yard field goal with :01 left in the game to give the Buccaneers a 24-21 lead over the
Cincinnati Bengals.
On October 24, 2010, Barth had a season-long 53-yard field goal against the
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994.
The arr ...
, while going 4-of-4 on field goal attempts, setting a new career-high for field goals made and tying his career high for attempts.
On October 16, 2011, Barth recorded career-high 14 points (four field goals and two extra points) in the 26–20 win against the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
.
On December 4, 2011, Barth went 4-for-4 on field goal attempts, converting from 50, 47, 46, and 44 yards, in the first half against the
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...
. He became just the third NFL player in history to record four-plus field goals of 40 or more yards in one half.
Barth the set franchise record with a 92.9 field goal percentage (26-28) in 2011, shattering
Steve Christie's 85.2 percent (23-27) in 1990.
On October 25, 2012, Barth kicked three field goals and three extra points for a season-high 12 points in the 36–17 win against the
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
.
On November 4, 2012, Barth kicked a career-high six extra points in the 42-32 win against the
Oakland Raiders.
At the end of the 2012 season, Barth finished 11th in the league with a career-high 123 points. Barth also set a single-season franchise record with six field goals of 50 or more yards.
On July 17, 2013, Barth was placed on injured reserve and missed the 2013 season with an Achilles injury suffered while taking part in a charity basketball game. Barth was replaced by veteran
placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter.
S ...
Rian Lindell
Rian David Lindell (born January 20, 1977) is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League for the Seattle Seahawks, Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played college football at Washington State.
Early years ...
.
During the 2013 offseason, the Buccaneers signed rookie
Patrick Murray to compete with Barth.
On August 29, 2014 Barth was released by the Buccaneers, losing to Murray.
Denver Broncos
On November 25, 2014, Barth signed with the
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
after they released their previous kicker,
Brandon McManus. During his five games in 2014, Barth tied the Broncos record of five field goals in a game twice.
On August 26, 2015, Barth was released.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (second stint)
Barth signed a two-year contract with the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
on August 26, 2015. On September 4, 2015, he was released by the Buccaneers.
Barth was resigned by Tampa Bay on October 6, 2015 after the team released starting kicker
Kyle Brindza.
On November 8, 2015, Barth kicked a season-high four field goals against the
New York Giants.
On May 2, 2016, Barth was released after the Bucs drafted star college kicker
Roberto Aguayo
Roberto Jose Aguayo (born May 17, 1994) is an American football placekicker who is a free agent. He played college football at Florida State University, where he was the most accurate kicker in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) history and third ...
in the second round of the
2016 NFL Draft
The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015 NFL Draft, 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park (Chicago), ...
.
New Orleans Saints
On May 19, 2016, it was reported that Barth was on his way to New Orleans to sign with the Saints, where he would compete with the Saints' current kicker
Kai Forbath
Kai August Forbath (born September 2, 1987) is a former American football placekicker. He played college football at UCLA and was recognized as an All-American and the best college kicker in the country in 2009. Forbath was signed by the Cowboy ...
. On September 3, he was released by the Saints after Forbath won the competition.
Chicago Bears
On September 5, 2016, Barth was signed by the
Chicago Bears to replace
Robbie Gould
Robert Paul Gould III (; born December 6, 1982) is an American football placekicker for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played with the Chicago Bears from 2005 to 2015, during which he became the franchise's all ...
. On September 18, 2016, in Week 2, Barth missed his first field goal attempt with the Bears against the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
.
On March 10, 2017, the Bears re-signed Barth to a one-year contract extension. On November 19, during Week 11 against the
Detroit Lions, with only eight seconds left in the fourth quarter, Barth missed a 46-yard field goal attempt as the ball went sailing far right. The Bears lost 27–24. The Bears released Barth and signed
Cairo Santos as his replacement the next day. It would be the final NFL game of Barth's career.
NFL career statistics
References
External links
North Carolina Tar Heels bioTampa Bay Buccaneers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barth, Connor
1986 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Arlington County, Virginia
Sportspeople from Wilmington, North Carolina
Players of American football from Virginia
Players of American football from North Carolina
American football placekickers
North Carolina Tar Heels football players
Kansas City Chiefs players
Miami Dolphins players
Tampa Bay Buccaneers players
Denver Broncos players
New Orleans Saints players
Chicago Bears players