Antwan Edward Barnes (born October 19, 1984) 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 ...

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

. He was drafted by the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. 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 Florida International. Barnes also played for 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 ...

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

, and

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The ...

College career

After graduating from Miami Norland High School, Barnes played

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florid ...

Miami, Florida 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 ...

where he was a 2006 All-

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams particip ...

selection and the school's all-time sacks leader with 21.5. On April 29, 2007, he became the first player in FIU history to be drafted by a

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 ...

team when he was selected in the fourth round with the 134th overall pick by the Baltimore Ravens.

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens

At the 2007 NFL Scouting Combine, Barnes ran a 4.43 second 40 yard dash, and put up 31 reps on the bench press. Barnes was a promising rookie in 2007, notching 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 10 solo tackles. During a 2007 preseason game, Barnes delivered a blind side hit on

punter Saverio Rocca, knocking off his

helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...

. Even though officials did not penalize Barnes during the game, the league fined him $12,500 for the hit. In 2008, on a roster deep with linebackers, he made a name for himself as a stand out special teams player, also making his first post-season appearance. In 2009, Barnes started the year with his first career interception (against the

, his future team), but then saw no action for several games. The team finally started using him late in the season, after the defense suffering an overall lack of pass rush, and he came in and notched 3 sacks and 10 solo tackles, as well as a force fumble.

Philadelphia Eagles

Barnes was traded to the

in exchange for a 2011 seventh-round draft pick on September 4, 2010. He was released on October 9, after being sparsely used and posting only three tackles.

San Diego Chargers

Barnes was signed by the

on October 12, 2010. He made an immediate impact, notching two sacks on

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...

in a game against the New England Patriots. As a backup pass-rush specialist, he ended the season in San Diego with 4.5 sacks and 15 tackles. On July 27, 2011, the Chargers re-signed Barnes to a two-year contract. In the 2011 season, he established himself as one of the top pass rushers on the Chargers team, starting 5 games, and notching 41 tackles, 11 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles. His best career game came against his former team, the

, on a prime-time December 18 game in San Diego, where he garnered 4 sacks against quarterback

Joe Flacco Joseph Vincent Flacco (born January 16, 1985) is an American football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football, Delaware after transferring from Pi ...

, his former teammate, along with 6 total tackles.

New York Jets

Barnes signed a two -year contract with the

on March 18, 2013. Barnes was placed on injured reserve on October 9, 2013 after suffering a season-ending knee injury. After spending the first six weeks of 2014 on the physically unable to perform list, Barnes was activated on October 15, 2014. He was released on December 1, 2014.

References

External links

Philadelphia Eagles bioSan Diego Chargers bioNew York Jets bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Antwan 1984 births Living people Miami Norland Senior High School alumni Players of American football from Miami American football linebackers FIU Panthers football players Baltimore Ravens players Philadelphia Eagles players San Diego Chargers players New York Jets players