Gary Michael Barnidge (born September 22, 1985) 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 ...

player who was a

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

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 was selected 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

in the fifth round of the

2008 NFL draft The 2008 NFL draft was the 73rd NFL draft, annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York (state), New York ...

(picked 141st overall). 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

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 also played in the NFL for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

Early life

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 landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. He attended and 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 Middleburg High School.

College career

Barnidge played

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

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

. The Panthers previously acquired the pick from 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 ...

in a trade that sent

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

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. He missed the whole 2011 NFL season with a broken ankle suffered in a preseason practice. On 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

on a 24-yard pass from

Cam Newton Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers. He is the NFL le ...

. 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 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 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 A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

tight end

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

'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 (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

, being voted as an alternate. He was ranked 94th on the

NFL Top 100 Players of 2016 The NFL Top 100 Players of 2016 was the sixth season in the series. It aired on May 4, 2016. It ended with reigning NFL MVP Cam Newton being ranked #1. The Kansas City Chiefs had the most players selected with nine, while the Chicago Bears Th ...

. 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.

NFL statistics

Personal life

In 2011, Barnidge, along with friend and Louisville Cardinal teammate Breno Giacomini, then of the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

, 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 ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

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 201 ...

and

Summer Rae Danielle Louise Moinet (born November 28, 1983) is an American model, actress, ring announcer, former professional wrestler, manager and American football player. She is best known for her tenure in WWE from 2011 to 2017, under the ring name Sum ...

. He also appeared on an episode of

Impact Wrestling Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated as TNA Wrestling or TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a Canadian media company owned by busine ...

in 2017, assisting fellow NFL player

DeAngelo Williams DeAngelo Chondon Williams (born April 25, 1983) is an American professional wrestler and former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Memphis Tigers, earning first-team All-Am ...

. Barnidge also competed with Williams on ''

The Amazing Race 32 ''The Amazing Race 32'' is the thirty-second season of the American reality competition show ''The Amazing Race''. Hosted by Phil Keoghan, it featured eleven teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, competing in a race around the wor ...

'' and finished in fourth place.

References

External links

*
Louisville Cardinals bio
{{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 Sportspeople from Clay County, Florida Players of American football from Jacksonville, Florida Sportspeople from Bowling Green, Kentucky Participants in American reality television series