Alejandro Barrett (born March 6, 1994) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

San Diego State Aztecs The San Diego State Aztecs are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent San Diego State University (SDSU). The university fields 17 varsity teams (6 men's, 11 women's) in National Collegiate Athle ...

Early life

Barrett was born on March 6, 1994, in

Yuma, Arizona Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 95,548 at the 2020 census, up from the 2010 census population of 93,064. Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, Metropolitan ...

. He played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at Desert Ridge High School in

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. The population was 504,258 at the 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Arizona, third-most populous city in Arizona, after Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, T ...

, and earned first-team all-state honors twice. He also lettered in track and field at Desert Ridge.

College career

Barrett played for the

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

from 2013 to 2016. He was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 2012. He played in 12 games in 2013, recording 8 solo tackles, 7 tackle assists and 3 sacks. He played in 10 games, all starts, in 2014, recording 21 solo tackles, 18 tackle assists, 3 sacks, 3 pass breakups and 1 forced fumble. Barrett earned Honorable Mention All- Mountain West honors in 2014. He played in 14 games, all starts, in 2015, totaling 33 solo tackles, 29 tackle assists, 5.5 sacks, 2 interceptions, 1 pass breakup and 2 forced fumbles. He was named First-team All-Mountain West in 2015. Barrett played in 14 games, all starts, in 2016, recording 29 solo tackles, 24 tackle assists, 7.5 sacks and 4 pass breakups. He garnered First-team All-Mountain West recognition in 2016, becoming the first San Diego State defensive lineman to earn First-team All-Mountain West honors multiple times. He was also a team captain his senior year in 2016. Barrett played in 50 games, starting 38, during his college career, totaling 91 solo tackles, 78 tackle assists, 19 sacks, 2 interceptions, 8 pass breakups, and 3 forced fumbles. His 19 sacks were tied for the fourth most in school history.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Barrett was rated the 43rd best defensive end in the 2017 NFL draft by NFLDraftScout.com.

Detroit Lions

Barrett signed with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

as an undrafted free agent on May 12, 2017. He was waived by the Lions on September 20 and signed to the team's

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

on September 22, 2017. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Lions on January 1, 2018. On September 1, 2018, Barrett was waived by the Lions and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was released on September 19, 2018. He was re-signed on October 31, 2018. He was released on November 6, 2018.

San Diego Fleet

On November 9, 2018, Barrett signed with the San Diego Fleet of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) for the 2019 season. Prior to the league shutting down, Barrett recorded 15 tackles and 2 sacks in 8 games played.

Oakland Raiders

Barrett signed with the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

on April 5, 2019, three days after the AAF suspended football operations. He was waived/injured during final roster cuts on August 30, 2019. He reverted to

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

after clearing waivers on September 1, 2019, but was released with an injury settlement on September 3.

San Francisco 49ers

On November 27, 2019, Barrett was signed to the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

' practice squad. He re-signed with the 49ers on February 11, 2020. He was waived on July 30, 2020, but re-signed three days later. He was waived again on August 13, 2020, but re-signed on August 30. He was waived again on September 5, 2020. On September 23, 2020, Barrett again was signed to the

' practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on October 7. He was waived again on October 26, 2020, and re-signed back to the practice squad two days later. He was elevated to the active roster on November 28 for the team's week 12 game against the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after the game. He was signed back to the active roster on December 12. He was waived on December 14, and re-signed to the practice squad two days later. He was elevated to the active roster again on December 25 for the week 16 game against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

, and reverted to the practice squad again following the game. He was promoted to the active roster again on January 1, 2021. On August 31, 2021, Barrett was waived by the 49ers and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract with the 49ers on February 2, 2022. On August 30, 2022, Barrett was waived by the 49ers and signed to the practice squad the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 31, 2023. On August 29, 2023, Barrett was waived by the 49ers and re-signed to the practice squad. He re-signed on February 14, 2024. Barrett was released by the 49ers on August 27, 2024, and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on January 4, 2025. On April 22, 2025, Barrett re-signed with the 49ers. On May 19, 2025, Barrett was waived by the 49ers.

References

External links

College statsSan Diego State Aztecs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrett, Alex Living people 1994 births American football defensive ends Detroit Lions players Sportspeople from Yuma, Arizona Oakland Raiders players San Diego State Aztecs football players San Diego Fleet players San Francisco 49ers players Players of American football from Mesa, Arizona 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen