 Barth with the Denver Broncos in 2014 | |||||||||||
| No. 5, 10, 1, 4 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Placekicker | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | (1986-04-11)April 11, 1986 (age 38) Wilmington, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 193 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | John T. Hoggard (Wilmington, North Carolina) | ||||||||||
| College: | North Carolina | ||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2008 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
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| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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Connor Thomas Barth (born April 11, 1986) is an American former professionalfootballplacekicker who played ten seasons in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football atNorth Carolina and was signed by theKansas City Chiefs as anundrafted free agent in2008.
Barth has been a member of theMiami Dolphins,Denver Broncos,Tampa Bay Buccaneers,New Orleans Saints and theChicago Bears. He currently holds the highest field goal percentage in Buccaneers franchise history, a record he achieved during the2011 season. He also broke another franchise record during the2012 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.[1] Barth holds the Buccaneers franchise record for consecutive field goals made with 25.[2]
Barth is currently a real estate agent for Intracoastal Realty inWilmington, North Carolina.[3]
Barth learned to kick under the tutelage of Brian Cardone inWilmington, North Carolina. Barth was named to the first-team high schoolAll-America byUSA Today during his prep career atJohn T. Hoggard High School in Wilmington. He played in theU.S. Army All-American Bowl, where he was named the top kicker in the combine. He was selected to the inauguralEA Sports 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 forfield goals 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 consecutiveextra points. Playing as apunter 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.[4] He kicked 75 percent of hiskickoffs into theend zone. As a punter, he punted 42 times for a 38.2-yard average.[4]
In 2004, as a freshman at theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Barth was named second-team freshman All-America by theRivals.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 #3Miami.[5] He made his first career field goal on a 22-yard attempt atVirginia.[4]
In 2005, as a sophomore, Barth made 11 of 21 field goals.[4] He struggled throughout the season, but connected on eight of his last ten field goal attempts.[4]
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 againstNorth Carolina State, Barth made a 54-yarder that was his career best and tied for the second-longest in school history.[4]
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 theAssociated Press.[4] Against Miami, Barth kicked a career-high four field goals in the 33–27 win and was named the ACCspecial teams player of the week.[4] He graduated UNC with a Communications major.[4]
Barth previously held theUNC record for most made field goals (54). His brother,Casey, now holds the current record (66)[4]
| Season | Overall FGs | PATs | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FGM | FGA | FG% | 0–29 | 30–39 | 40–49 | +50 | Lng | XPM | XPA | |
| 2004 | 14 | 18 | 77.8 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 50 | 35 | 37 |
| 2005 | 11 | 21 | 52.4 | 6–7 | 1–4 | 4–8 | 0–2 | 45 | 23 | 23 |
| 2006 | 10 | 10 | 100.0 | 4–4 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 54 | 24 | 26 |
| 2007 | 19 | 22 | 86.4 | 5–5 | 6–6 | 7–8 | 1–3 | 51 | 21 | 23 |
| Total | 54 | 71 | 76.1 | 21–22 | 15–20 | 15–21 | 4–9 | 54 | 103 | 109 |
Barth was signed as an undrafted free agent by theKansas City Chiefs in 2008.[6]
Barth failed to beat outNick Novak for the team's placekicking job and was waived by the Chiefs on August 29, 2008.[7]
Barth was re-signed by the team on October 21 after Novak was released.[8] In his first NFL game, Barth went 1-for-1 on field goal attempts and 3-for-3 on extra points against theNew York Jets.[9] 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 theSan Diego Chargers.[10][11]
Barth was waived by the Chiefs on July 28, 2009, in favor ofRyan Succop.[12]
Barth was signed by theMiami Dolphins on August 10, 2009, to compete with incumbentDan Carpenter.[13] However, the Dolphins waived Barth on August 29.[14]
Barth was signed by the Buccaneers on November 3, 2009, after the Buccaneers releasedShane Andrus.[15] Barth tied an NFL record held by three other kickers when he made three field goals of 50 yards or more against theMiami Dolphins on November 15, 2009; the kicks were from 51, 50, and 54 yards.[16][17]
On December 27, 2009, Barth kicked a 47-yard overtime field goal to give the Buccaneers the win over theNew Orleans Saints, 20–17.[18] He appeared in nine games in the 2009 season. He converted all 12 extra point attempts and 14 of 19 field goal attempts.[19]
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 theCincinnati Bengals.[20] In Week 7,, Barth had a season-long 53-yard field goal against theSt. Louis Rams, 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.[21] Overall, in the 2010 season, Barth converted all 36 extra point attempts and 23 of 28 field goal attempts.[22]
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 theNew Orleans Saints.[23] 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 theCarolina Panthers.[24] He became just the third NFL player in history to record four-plus field goals of 40 or more yards in one half.[citation needed] In the 2011 season, Barth converted all 23 extra point attempts and 26 of 28 field goal attempts.[25] Barth the set franchise record with a 92.9 field goal percentage (26–28) in 2011, shatteringSteve Christie's 85.2 percent (23–27) in 1990.[26]
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 theMinnesota Vikings.[27] In Week 9, Barth kicked a career-high six extra points in the 42–32 win against theOakland Raiders.[28] Overall, in the 2012 season, Barth converted all 39 extra point attempts and 28 of 33 field goal attempts.[29] Barth finished 11th in the league with a career-high 123 points.[30] Barth set a single-season franchise record with six field goals of 50 or more yards.[26]
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.[31] Barth was replaced by veteranplacekickerRian Lindell.[32]
During the 2013 offseason, the Buccaneers signed rookiePatrick Murray to compete with Barth.[33]
On August 29, 2014, Barth was released by the Buccaneers, losing to Murray.[34]
On November 25, 2014, Barth signed with theDenver Broncos after they released their previous kicker,Brandon McManus. Barth won AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for December.[35] During his five games in 2014,[36] Barth tied the Broncos record of five field goals in a game twice.[37] On August 26, 2015, Barth was released.[38]
Barth signed a two-year contract with theTampa Bay Buccaneers on August 26, 2015.[39] On September 4, 2015, he was released by the Buccaneers.[40]
Barth was resigned by Tampa Bay on October 6, 2015, after the team released starting kickerKyle Brindza.[41]
On November 8, 2015, Barth kicked a season-high four field goals against theNew York Giants.[42] In the 2015 season, Barth converted 25 of 26 extra point attempts and 23 of 28 field goal attempts.[43]
On May 2, 2016, Barth was released after the Buccaneers draftedRoberto Aguayo in the second round of the2016 NFL draft.[44][45]
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 kickerKai Forbath.[46] On September 3, he was released by the Saints after Forbath won the competition.[47]
On September 5, 2016, Barth was signed by theChicago Bears to replaceRobbie Gould.[48] On September 18, 2016, in Week 2, Barth missed his first field goal attempt with the Bears against thePhiladelphia Eagles.[49] He finished the 2016 season converting 31 of 32 extra point attempts and 18 of 23 field goal attempts.[50]
On March 10, 2017, the Bears re-signed Barth to a one-year contract extension.[51] On November 19, during Week 11 against theDetroit Lions, 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.[52] The Bears released Barth and signedCairo Santos as his replacement the next day. It would be the final NFL game of Barth's career.[53] Barth finished his final NFL season converting all 17 extra point attempts and of 11 of 16 field goal attempts in ten games.[54]
| Year | Team | GP | Overall FGs | PATs | Kickoffs | Points | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blk | Lng | FGM | FGA | Pct | XPM | XPA | Pct | Blk | KO | Avg | TB | Ret | Avg | ||||
| 2008 | KC | 10 | 0 | 45 | 10 | 12 | 83.3 | 24 | 24 | 100.0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | 54 |
| 2009 | TB | 9 | 0 | 54 | 14 | 19 | 73.7 | 12 | 12 | 100.0 | 0 | 36 | 64.1 | 6 | 29 | 18.8 | 54 |
| 2010 | TB | 16 | 0 | 53 | 23 | 28 | 82.1 | 36 | 36 | 100.0 | 0 | 78 | 61.7 | 1 | 75 | 20.7 | 105 |
| 2011 | TB | 16 | 0 | 55 | 26 | 28 | 92.9 | 23 | 23 | 100.0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | 101 |
| 2012 | TB | 15 | 0 | 57 | 28 | 33 | 84.8 | 39 | 39 | 100.0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | 123 |
| 2013 | TB | 0 | did not play due to injury | ||||||||||||||
| 2014 | DEN | 5 | 0 | 50 | 15 | 16 | 93.8 | 15 | 15 | 100.0 | 0 | 8 | 57.0 | 0 | 8 | 24.9 | 60 |
| 2015 | TB | 12 | 0 | 53 | 23 | 28 | 82.1 | 25 | 26 | 96.2 | 0 | 64 | 63.5 | 32 | 30 | 25.6 | 94 |
| 2016 | CHI | 16 | 1 | 54 | 18 | 23 | 78.3 | 31 | 32 | 96.8 | 0 | 64 | 62.1 | 26 | 35 | 21.9 | 85 |
| 2017 | CHI | 10 | 1 | 54 | 11 | 16 | 68.8 | 17 | 17 | 100.0 | 0 | 37 | 64.2 | 17 | 20 | 24.4 | 50 |
| Total | 109 | 2 | 57 | 168 | 203 | 82.8 | 222 | 224 | 99.1 | 0 | 287 | 62.7 | 82 | 197 | 21.9 | 726 | |
Barth is the son of Thomas and Susan Barth. His younger brother,Casey, was also a placekicker for North Carolina.[55][56][57]
