Nicholas Alexander Barnett (born May 27, 1981) 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

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 ...

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 ...

for the

Oregon State Beavers The Oregon State Beavers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I ...

, and was selected by 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 ...

in the first round of the

2003 NFL draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...

. He played professionally for the Packers,

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

and

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

. Sidelined by an injury, he was unable to play with the Packers during their

Super Bowl XLV Super Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

win against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

Early life

Barnett was born in

Barstow, California Barstow is a city in San Bernardino County, California, in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. Located in the Inland Empire region of California, the population was 25,415 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Barstow is an impor ...

and attended Fontana A.B. Miller High School in

Fontana, California Fontana is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Founded by Azariel Blanchard Miller in 1913, it remained essentially rural until World War II, when entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser built a large steel mill in the area. It ...

College career

Barnett attended

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

, where he was a four-year letter winner for the

Oregon State Beavers football The Oregon State Beavers football team represents Oregon State University in NCAA Division I FBS college football. The team first fielded an organized football team in 1893 and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference. Their home games are played at ...

team (1999–2002), starting the last three seasons at strong side linebacker. As a senior, Barnett was a first-team All-Pacific-10 Conference selection. He led the conference in tackles with 121 (62 solo). Barnett registered his single game best against the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

in 2001 with 18 tackles (11 solo). He majored in Business Administration and Communications.

College statistics

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

The

selected Barnett in the first round (29th overall) of the

. Barnett was the third linebacker drafted in 2003, behind

Terrell Suggs Terrell Raymonn Suggs (born October 11, 1982), nicknamed "T-Sizzle", is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for 17 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Arizona State ...

(10th overall) and Calvin Pace (18th overall). On July 19, 2003, the Packers signed Barnett to five-year, $6 million contract 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 $3.21 million. Barnett entered training camp as the 'de facto' starting middle linebacker, replacing Hardy Nickerson. Head coach

Mike Sherman Michael Francis Sherman (born December 19, 1954) is an American gridiron football coach and former player who most recently was the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was the head coach of the Green B ...

named Barnett the starting middle linebacker to begin his rookie season. He started alongside outside linebackers Hannibal Navies and Na'il Diggs. He made his professional regular season debut and first career start during the Green Bay Packers' season-opener 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 ...

and made five combined tackles (one solo) during their 30–25 loss. On September 14, 2003, Barnett collected a season-high 14 combined tackles (12 solo), deflected one pass, and made his first career interception during a 31–6 victory 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 ...

in Week 2. Barnett intercepted a pass by Lions' quarterback Joey Harrington, that was originally intended for tight end

Mikhael Ricks Mikhael Roy Ricks (born November 14, 1974) is a former National Football League (NFL) tight end. Ricks attended Anahuac High School in Anahuac, Texas. He went to college at Stephen F. Austin State University, where he played football and baske ...

, and returned it for a 13-yard gain during the fourth quarter. In Week 4, he made four combined tackles (three solo) and made his first career sack on Bears' quarterback

Kordell Stewart Kordell Stewart (born October 16, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nicknamed "Slash", he played college ...

for a five-yard loss during the first quarter of a 38–23 victory at 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 ...

. Barnett was inactive for the Packers' Week 13 loss at the

after sustaining an ankle injury during a 20–10 win against 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 ...

the previous week. He finished his rookie season in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

with 112 combined tackle (86 solo), three pass deflections, three interceptions, and two sacks in 15 games and 15 starts. The Packers finished first in the NFC North with a 10–6 record in 2003. On January 4, 2004, Barnett started in his first career playoff game and made six combined tackles (three solo) during a 33–27 overtime victory against 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 ...

during the NFC Wildcard Game. The following week, he made five solo tackles and defended two passes as the Packers lost 20–17 at 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 ...

during the NFC Divisional Round and were eliminated from the playoffs. On April 10, 2007, Barnett signed a six-year contract extension worth $34.85 million. Barnett missed the second half of the 2008 season after suffering a torn knee ligament during November 9's game against the

. Barnett suffered a season-ending wrist injury in a Week 4 matchup vs. the

. He was put on injured reserve on October 7, 2010. It was the second time in three seasons that Barnett ended his season on injured reserve. As of 2018 Barnett is third in all-time tackles for the Green Bay Packers. Barnett was released on July 28, after Green Bay was unable to find a trade.

Buffalo Bills

Barnett signed a three-year, $12 million deal with the

on July 31, 2011. On February 11, 2013, the Bills announced that Barnett would be released from his contract along with

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

George Wilson George Wilson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Balch Wilson (1927–2021), American composer, professor emeritus at the University of Michigan * George Washington Wilson (1823–1893), Scottish photographer * George Christopher (ac ...

Washington Redskins

On July 31, 2013, Barnett agreed to a one-year deal with the

. He switched from the outside to

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 ...

position for the Redskins' defensive scheme. On December 24, he was placed 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 ...

after suffering a MCL sprain in the Week 16 game against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

Professional statistics

Coaching career

Barnett is currently the head coach at Del Norte Highschool in San Diego, CA.

References

External links

Washington Redskins bioBuffalo Bills bioOregon State Beavers bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnett, Nick 1981 births Living people Players of American football from Fontana, California American football linebackers Oregon State Beavers football players Green Bay Packers players Buffalo Bills players Washington Redskins players A. B. Miller High School alumni High school football coaches in California Coaches of American football from California