Connor Barth
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Connor Thomas Barth (born April 11, 1986) 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 ...
placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...
who played ten seasons in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL). 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
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...
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 ...
in
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
. Barth has been a member of the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
,
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
,
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...
,
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 National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...
and 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 ...
. 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 New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, eighth-most populous city in the st ...
.


Early life

Barth learned to kick under the tutelage of Brian Cardone in
Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, eighth-most populous city in the st ...
. Barth was named to the first-team high school
All-America 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 ''
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'' during his prep career at John T. Hoggard High School 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 imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) ...
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. Consequently, a ...
in a season and career with 38. '' The Charlotte Observer'' 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 Extra, Xtra, or The Extra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * The Extra (1962 film), ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * The Extra (2005 film), ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * Extra (newspaper), ...
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 the 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 The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...
, Barth was named second-team freshman All-America by the Rivals.com 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 is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
. He made his first career field goal on a 22-yard attempt at
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
.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. 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, 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 not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
. 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, now holds the current record (66)


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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...
in 2008. Barth failed to beat out
Nick Novak Nicholas Ryan Novak (born August 21, 1981) is an American former professional football placekicker. He played college football at Maryland and was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2005. Novak was a member of the Dallas ...
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. In his first NFL game, Barth went 1-for-1 on field goal attempts and 3-for-3 on extra points against the
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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
. 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 against the
San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...
. Barth was waived by the Chiefs on July 28, 2009, in favor of Ryan Succop.


Miami Dolphins

Barth was signed by the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
on August 10, 2009, to compete with incumbent Dan Carpenter. However, the Dolphins waived Barth on August 29.


Tampa Bay Buccaneers (first stint)

Barth was signed by the Buccaneers on November 3, 2009, after the Buccaneers released Shane Andrus. 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. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
on November 15, 2009; the kicks were from 51, 50, and 54 yards. 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 National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...
, 20–17. He appeared in nine games in the 2009 season. He converted all 12 extra point attempts and 14 of 19 field goal attempts. In Week 5 of the 2010 season, 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 The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...
. In Week 7,, 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, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...
, 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. Overall, in the 2010 season, Barth converted all 36 extra point attempts and 23 of 28 field goal attempts. In Week 6 of the 2011 season, 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 National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...
. In Week 13, 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...
. He became just the third NFL player in history to record four-plus field goals of 40 or more yards in one half. In the 2011 season, Barth converted all 23 extra point attempts and 26 of 28 field goal attempts. 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. In Week 7 of the 2012 season, 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. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...
. In Week 9, Barth kicked a career-high six extra points in the 42–32 win against 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 ...
. Overall, in the 2012 season, Barth converted all 39 extra point attempts and 28 of 33 field goal attempts. Barth finished 11th in the league with a career-high 123 points. Barth 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 In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...
Rian Lindell Rian David Lindell (born January 20, 1977) is an American former professional football placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) who played for the Seattle Seahawks, Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played college football at ...
. 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 team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
after they released their previous kicker, Brandon McManus. Barth won AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for December. 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 (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...
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 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 ...
. In the 2015 season, Barth converted 25 of 26 extra point attempts and 23 of 28 field goal attempts. On May 2, 2016, Barth was released after the Buccaneers drafted Roberto Aguayo in the second round of the
2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL draft was the 81st annual draft of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...
.


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. 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 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 ...
to replace Robbie Gould. 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
. He finished the 2016 season converting 31 of 32 extra point attempts and 18 of 23 field goal attempts. 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 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 ...
, 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. Barth finished his final NFL season converting all 17 extra point attempts and of 11 of 16 field goal attempts in ten games.


NFL career statistics


Personal life

Barth is the son of Thomas and Susan Barth. His younger brother, Casey, was also a placekicker for North Carolina.


References


External links


North Carolina Tar Heels bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barth, Connor 1986 births Living people Players of American football from Arlington County, Virginia Players of American football from Wilmington, 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