Gary Michael Barnidge (born September 22, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

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 ...

(NFL). He was drafted by 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. ...

in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft (picked 141st overall). He played college football for the

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

. He has also played in the NFL for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

Early years

Barnidge was born on September 22, 1985 in

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

. He attended and played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

at Middleburg High School.

College career

Barnidge played college football at

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

from 2004 to 2007. As a freshman, he had seven receptions for 85 yards and four touchdowns. As a sophomore, he had 17 receptions for 240 yards and two touchdowns. As a junior, he had 31 receptions for 511 yards and four touchdowns. 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. 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

in the fifth round (141st overall) in the 2008 NFL Draft. The Panthers previously acquired the pick from the New York Jets in a trade that sent

Kris Jenkins Kristopher Rudy-Charles Jenkins (born August 3, 1979) is a former American football defensive tackle who played for the Carolina Panthers and New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of ...

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. In the 2009 season, he had 12 receptions for 242 yards. In 2010, he appeared in all 16 games and led the team with 17 special-teams tackles. He missed the whole 2011 NFL season with a broken ankle suffered in a preseason practice. In November 26, 2012, Barnidge recorded his first professional touchdown reception 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 a 24-yard pass from

Cam Newton Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He has played for 11 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Super Cam", he is the NF ...

. Overall, he finished the 2012 season with six receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown.

Cleveland Browns

On March 14, 2013, Barnidge was signed by the

as an

unrestricted 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 is ...

. In the 2013 season, he had 13 receptions for 127 yards and two touchdowns. In the 2014 season, he had 13 receptions for 156 yards. 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). His nine touchdowns tied Hall of Fame tight end

Ozzie Newsome Ozzie Newsome Jr. (born March 16, 1956) is an American former professional football player and executive who is the executive vice president of player personnel of the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Newsome was a tight e ...

's franchise record set in 1979 and ranked No. 4 among all NFL tight ends in 2015. He was voted the best player on the Browns. On December 10, 2015, Barnidge was signed to a 3-year extension worth around $12 million. After the 2015 season, Barnidge made his first

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

, being voted as an alternate. He was ranked 94th on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016. On June 2, 2016, Barnidge underwent a sports hernia surgery. He started all 16 games in 2016, catching 55 passes for 612 yards and two touchdowns. On April 28, 2017, Barnidge was released by the Browns.

Career statistics

Personal life

In 2011, Barnidge, along with friend and Louisville Cardinal teammate

Breno Giacomini Breno Gomes Giacomini (born September 27, 1985) is a former American football offensive tackle. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fifth round in the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Louisville. Giacomini is of Brazi ...

, 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. Barnidge has appeared on two episodes of ''

Total Divas ''Total Divas'' is an American reality television series that aired from July 28, 2013, to December 10, 2019, on E!. The series gave viewers an inside look into the lives of female WWE wrestlers from their work within WWE to their person ...

'', an E!

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

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 Milena Leticia Roucka (; born October 25, 1979) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler, valet and model. She was known for her time in WWE under the ring name Rosa Mendes. She managed former WWE Tag Team Champions Primo & Epico from 2011 ...

and

Summer Rae Danielle Louise Moinet (born November 28, 1983) is an American professional wrestler, model, actress, ring announcer, and former American football player. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Summer Ra ...

. He also appeared on an episode of Impact Wrestling in 2017, assisting fellow NFL player

DeAngelo Williams DeAngelo Chondon Williams (born April 25, 1983) is a former American football running back and professional wrestler. He played college football at Memphis, and was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He s ...

. Barnidge also competed with Williams on ''

The Amazing Race 32 ''The Amazing Race 32'' is the thirty-second season of the American reality television show ''The Amazing Race''. It featured eleven teams of two competing in a race around the world. The season premiered on CBS on October 14, 2020, and the sea ...

'' and finished in fourth place.

References

External links

*
Gary Barnidge Official Website

Cleveland Browns biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnidge, Gary 1985 births Living people American football tight ends Carolina Panthers players Cleveland Browns players Louisville Cardinals football players Unconferenced Pro Bowl players People from Clay County, Florida Players of American football from Jacksonville, Florida People from Bowling Green, Kentucky The Amazing Race (American TV series) contestants