Krystopher Nathaniel Barnes (born April 2, 1998) 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

. 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

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

, and originally signed with the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

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 2020.

Early life

Barnes was born and grew up in

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of th ...

. He attended and played football at Liberty High School, along with childhood friend and future

teammate Jordan Love. Together, Barnes and Love helped lead Liberty to the first Division I Central Section championship in school history.

College career

In four seasons at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, Barnes played in 43 games with 31 starts, recording 212 tackles (139 solo, 21 for loss), five sacks, and two interceptions. Barnes was All-Pac 12 Conference honorable mention his senior season.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

On April 29, 2020, the

signed Barnes to a three-year, $2.29 million contract as an

that includes a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $7,000. Throughout training camp, Barnes competed to be a starting

inside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the lin ...

against

Oren Burks Oren Spencer Burks (born March 21, 1995) is an American professional football linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Vanderbilt Commodores and was selected by the Green Bay ...

, Ty Summers, and fellow rookie Kamal Martin. On September 5, 2020, the Packers waived Barnes as part of their final roster cuts, but signed him to the

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 ...

the next day after clearing waivers. On September 12, 2020, the Green Bay Packers promoted Barnes to their active roster. Head coach

Matt LaFleur Matthew Robert LaFleur ( ; born November 3, 1979) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the head coach for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He has served as the quarterback coach of the W ...

elected to start Barnes at inside linebacker, alongside

Christian Kirksey Christian Paul Kirksey (born August 31, 1992) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes and was selected by the Cleveland Bro ...

, to start the regular season. He made his first career start and his professional debut in the Green Bay Packers’ season-opener at 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 ...

and recorded seven combined tackles (five solo) during their 43–34 victory. On October 18, 2020, Barnes recorded ten combined tackles (seven solo) during a 38–10 loss at 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 ...

in Week 6. In Week 7 against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

, Barnes recorded his first career sack on

Deshaun Watson Derrick Deshaun Watson (born September 14, 1995) is an American professional football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Clemson Tigers, leading the team to a national ...

during the 35–20 win. He was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

list by the team on November 6, 2020, and activated on December 2. In Week 15 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 ...

, Barnes forced a fumble on quarterback

Teddy Bridgewater Theodore Edmond Bridgewater Jr. (born November 10, 1992) is an American professional football quarterback. He played college football for the Louisville Cardinals, winning the 2013 Sugar Bowl, and was selected as the final first round pick of ...

at the one yard line that was recovered by the Packers during the 24–16 win. During the team's matchup against 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 Week 9, Barnes made a season-high 9 tackles, including one that prevented a touchdown by running back

Darrel Williams Darrel Williams (born April 15, 1995) is an American professional American football, football running back. He played college football for the LSU Tigers football, LSU Tigers. He was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in ...

. He signed his tender offer from the Packers on April 18, 2022, to keep him with the team. In the 2022 season-opener at the Vikings, he sustained ankle injury, which put him on

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 ...

. On November 5, 2022, he was activated off of injured reserve.

Arizona Cardinals

On March 25, 2023, Barnes signed with 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 ...

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

External links

UCLA Bruins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Krys 1998 births Living people Players of American football from Bakersfield, California American football linebackers University of California, Los Angeles alumni UCLA Bruins football players Green Bay Packers players Arizona Cardinals players Liberty High School (Bakersfield, California) alumni