Alex Bars (born September 8, 1995) is an American former 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 ...

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative (Netherlands), Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tende ...

. 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 ...

at Notre Dame and was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

following the

2019 NFL draft The 2019 NFL draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville. The first round was held ...

College career

Bars was a member of the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 26 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

for five seasons. He spent his freshman year on the

scout team The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of ...

before playing in six games with two starts as a sophomore. He started all 12 of Notre Dame's games at

right tackle A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and Defensive tackle, defense. In the modern system of ...

as a junior and all 13 games of his senior year at

left guard In American football, a guard (G), otherwise known as an offensive guard (OG), is an offensive line player who lines up between the center and the tackles. Like other offensive line positions, guards are used primarily for blocking. Right ...

. Bars returned as a graduate student for a fifth season of

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

eligibility and was named a preseason

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

by the ''

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'', but tore his MCL and ACL five games into the season against Stanford. Over the course of his college career, Bars played in 36 games with 32 starts.

Professional career

Chicago Bears

Bars signed with the

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

on May 2, 2019. Bars was waived at the end of

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

during final roster cuts, but was re-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 1. The Bears promoted Bars to the active roster on October 15. He made his NFL debut on November 28, against 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 ...

. Bars played in five games during his rookie season. Bars made his first career start on November 8, 2020, in a 17–24 loss to the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

, lining up at center despite having never played the position and playing all 77 of the Bears' offensive snaps. Bars played in all 16 regular season games and started the last eight with one start at center, one start at left guard and six starts at right guard. He signed a contract extension with the team on March 3, 2021.

Las Vegas Raiders

On March 27, 2022, Bars signed a one-year contract with the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

. He was waived on August 30. On September 6, Bars was signed to the practice squad. Bars was elevated to the active roster on September 17, for the team's Week 2 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 on September 24, for the team's Week 3 game against the

and on both cases was then reverted to the practice squad the next day. On October 1, the Raiders signed Bars to their active roster from the practice squad. On March 30, 2023, Bars re–signed with Las Vegas. On August 29, Bars was released by the Raiders.

Personal life

Bars' brother,

Brad Brad may refer to: * Brad (given name), a masculine given name Places * Brad, Hunedoara, a city in Hunedoara County, Romania * Brad, a village in Berești-Bistrița Commune, Bacău County, Romania * Brad, a village in Filipeni, Bacău, Romania * ...

, played in the NFL in 2015 for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. Bars is second cousins with streamer Nickmercs.

References

External links

Notre Dame Fighting Irish bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bars, Alex 1995 births Living people Players of American football from Nashville, Tennessee American football offensive guards Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Chicago Bears players Las Vegas Raiders players