.jpg) Barron with theSt. Louis Rams in2008 | |||||||
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| Position | Offensive tackle | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born | (1982-09-28)September 28, 1982 (age 43) Orangeburg, South Carolina, U.S. | ||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | ||||||
| Listed weight | 316 lb (143 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school | Orangeburg (SC) Wilkinson | ||||||
| College | Florida State (2001–2004) | ||||||
| NFL draft | 2005: 1st round, 19th overall pick | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Alex Benjamin Barron (born September 28, 1982) is an American former professionalfootball player who was anoffensive tackle in theNational Football League (NFL). He was selected by theSt. Louis Rams with the 19th overall pick of the2005 NFL draft. He playedcollege football forFlorida State University, and was a two-time consensusAll-American.
Barron was born inOrangeburg, South Carolina. He attendedOrangeburg-Wilkinson High School, and was a two-sport standout infootball andbasketball for the O-W Bruins.
In football, he was named a high school All-American by both PrepStar andFootball News, ranked the No. 3 lineman in the nation by PrepStar, named to the All-South team by theOrlando Sentinel, and selected as Jeff Whittaker's Deep South Recruiting Guide South Carolina Player of the Year.
Barron accepted a football scholarship fromFlorida State University, where he played for coachBobby Bowden'sFlorida State Seminoles football team from 2001 to 2004. As aredshirt freshman, he played in 4 games as a backup. As a sophomore, he appeared in 14 with five starts. As a junior, he started 12 games.
As a senior, he started all 13 games, allowing only five quarterback pressures and one sack, while contributing to the Seminoles gaining 4,470 offensive yards. He was also one of three finalists for theOutland Trophy.
Barron started 30 out of 43 career games atleft tackle. He was a first-teamAll-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) selection in 2003 and 2004, and was recognized as a consensus first-teamAll-American in 2003 and a unanimous first-team All-American in 2004.[1] He graduated from Florida State with abachelor's degree in social science.
In 2016, he was inducted into the Florida State University Athletics Hall of Fame. He also has a permanent display in the Seminoles' locker room.
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | Wonderlic | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft7+1⁄2 in (2.02 m) | 320 lb (145 kg) | 37+3⁄4 in (0.96 m) | 10+1⁄4 in (0.26 m) | 4.87 s | 4.56 s | 7.83 s | 38.0 in (0.97 m) | 9 ft 4 in (2.84 m) | 21 reps | 19 | ||
| All values fromNFL Combine/Florida State Pro Day.[2] | ||||||||||||
Barron was selected by theSt. Louis Rams in the first round (19th overall) of the2005 NFL draft.[3] On August 14,2005, he signed a five-year, $9.2 million contract with the Rams with escalators that could take the value to over $11 million. The contract featured $5.5 million in guaranteed money, not including the signing bonus of $1 million. As a rookie, he was moved toright tackle, because the team hadAll-ProOrlando Pace starting atleft tackle. Barron passedRex Tucker on the depth chart, starting 11 games, while making his pro debut against theTennessee Titans and his first start against theNew York Giants.
In2007, he started 16 games atright tackle. He switched from right toleft tackle against theSan Francisco 49ers, after Pace was injured in Week 1.[4]
In2008, he started 15 of 16 games atright tackle, while contributing torunning backSteven Jackson leading the league with an average of 118.4 yards from scrimmage. He was a part of an offensive line that allowed 45 sacks, the fewest by the Rams since 2003.
In2009, he started 16 games atleft tackle after Pace was released. He allowed 7 sacks and led the league with 7 holding penalties. In a 35–0 loss against theSan Francisco 49ers, his poor play resulted in him being benched for the rest of the game, after getting an illegal formation penalty for lining up in the backfield.[5] He contributed to Jackson rushing for more than 1,400 yards (most in the NFC).
In2010, the Rams draftedoffensive tackleRodger Saffold to compete with Barron. On May 10, he was traded to theDallas Cowboys, in exchange for another underwhelming former first round draft choice inlinebackerBobby Carpenter.[6]
Barron had a disappointing career with the Rams, becoming notorious for his inconsistency, false starts and holding penalties. Although he was durable, starting 74 games at both left and right tackle, he struggled with penalties and poor blocking. He committed 43 false start penalties (13 in 2006), 13 holding penalties and allowed 33 sacks.[7] Such poor play after having been a first round draft has led to him being labeled as a bust among Ram fans.
In2010, he was acquired to provide depth and compete withDoug Free for the left tackle position, after the release ofFlozell Adams.[8] He got off to an inauspicious beginning, in his first game and start atright tackle in place of an injuredMarc Colombo, the Cowboys appeared to have come back from a 13–7 deficit on atouchdown pass fromTony Romo toRoy Williams on the final play against theWashington Redskins on the season opener.[9] However, Barron was flagged for holdingdefensive endBrian Orakpo and because the penalty was called against the offense, the game was over with the Cowboys losing.[10] Although he was active for 10 additional games, he would not play another down and was not re-signed at the end of the year.
On August 3,2011, Barron signed with theNew Orleans Saints.[11] On August 18, he was put on theinjured reserve list. He was waived with an injury settlement on October 22.
On May 15,2012, he signed as afree agent with theSeattle Seahawks, after having a tryout with the team during rookie minicamp.[12] He was cut on August 26.[13]
On March 26,2013, Barron signed with theOakland Raiders, to provide depth after starterJared Veldheer suffered a torn left triceps.[14] On September 2, he was released to make room on the roster foroffensive tackleTony Pashos.[15]
Media related toAlex Barron at Wikimedia Commons