Anthony Barr

At 32 years old, Anthony Barr has this physical status:

High school career

Barr was born in South Bend, Indiana, but he was raised in Los Angeles, where he attended Loyola High School in the Pico-Union neighborhood. After rushing for 1,890 yards and 20 touchdowns as a junior, he was a letterman in football and track, and he was an All-State pick at running back for the Loyola Cubs football team. However, he missed virtually every part of his senior season after breaking his ankle in September, and he was also unable to participate in the 2010 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, to which he was invited.

Barr has also served in four seasons in track and field. He earned 11th-place finishes in both the 100 meter (11.01 s) and the 200 meter (22.40 s) dashes at the 2009 CIF Southern Prelims. He finished silver in the 200 meters dash at the 2009 Mission League Championships, logging a personal record time of 21.86 seconds.

Barr, who had been described as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, was ranked as the No. 1. The 8-perspective and the No. No. No. 1 vote in the United States. A 5 star star from California's state of California has been selected. He was ranked as the No. 1 on Scout.com, according to Scout.com. The No. 1 national survey and the No. Outside linebacker, he is ten out of linebacker. He was also rated as the No. 1 in the United States. MaxPreps has a one-actor stand out. Barr narrowed his choices to Notre Dame and UCLA before choosing the Bruins on January 21, 2010.

College career

Barr played football for the first two years at UCLA, playing running back, wide receiver, and tight end. Barr made his first appearance against the Oregon Ducks on October 21, 2010, making 1 catch for 17 yards. He made an 11-yard touchdown pass against the Houston Cougars in 2011. Despite playing offense in both years, he only played for 53 yards. Barr struggled at being a running back, which almost forced him to abandon football. However, he switched to linebacker before his junior season in 2012.

During Barr's first year as a linebacker, he had 13.5 sacks, 21.5 tackles for loss, and 83 tackles. His 13.5 sacks were the second most sacks in the country (behind only to Georgia's Jarvis Jones). He was voted to the CBSSports.com College Football All-America second team as a first-team All-Pac-12. After his success against the Washington State Cougars in Week 11, Barr was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week. Barr was named the Most Valuable Player on Defense at the team's annual awards banquet (Henry R. "Red" Sanders Award). Barr fired quarterback Matt Barkley, who sustained a season-ending shoulder injury in a November 2012 match against the USC Trojans.

Barr made more than 7 tackles, eight against Stanford, eight in the Pac-12 Football Championship game, and nine against Baylor in the Holiday Bowl. Barr, despite being lauded as a potential first-round draft pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, has returned to UCLA for his senior season. Barr was ranked 37th in the Maxwell Award and 3rd as a contender for the Chuck Bednarik Award on July 8, 2013. Barr was nominated for the Butkus Award and the Lombardi Award on July 15, 2013. He was also selected to the 2013 preseason All-American team.

After a 41-21 victory over Nebraska on September 14, 2013, Barr was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week for Week 2 of the 2013 season. He was also the Walter Camp Football Foundation's defense MVP of the week. Barr had 62 tackles, 20 for a loss (ranked ninth) and has caused five fumbles (fifth best) and recovered four (second in the country) during the 2013 regular season. He commanded the team with ten sacks for 66 yards and was awarded the Lott IMPACT Award. Barr is in sixth position on the all-time school list for tackles (41.5), and he currently ranks sixth in the school's all-time list for sacks (23.5). Barr was named to the first-team All-American by USA Today on December 11, 2013, becoming the first UCLA player to do so since Kai Forbath.

Professional career

Barr was ranked as one of the top linebacker candidates for the 2014 NFL Draft. He was predicted as the No. 1 after the college season ended. Sports Illustrated's 3 picks in the 2014 NFL Draft. Barr completed the 40-yard dash in 4.66 seconds, sixth-best among linebackers, and tied for 14th in the vertical (34.5 inches) at the 2014 NFL Combine. According to NFL.com's combined tracker, his 15 reps on the bench press were also dead last among those who registered. He ran an electronic 4.41 in the 40-yard dash, 19 repetitions on the bench press, and had a 10-foot-5 (3.20 meters) broad jump on March 11.

Barr was drafted in the first round by the Minnesota Vikings, making him the first drafted defensive player out of UCLA since Eric Turner, second overall in 1991. Jonathan Ogden, who was ranked sixth overall in 1996, was the first UCLA player to be a top-10 pick since Jonathan Ogden, who was ranked sixth overall. He also surpassed Jamir Miller, who was ranked tenth overall in 1994 as the best Bruins linebacker ever selected.

In 2022, Nate Cohn of The New York Times ranked Barr and Ryan Mathews as the only two of 19 top NFL draft picks since 2005, with their careers proving much earlier than their ESPN draft ranking.

Barr has been with the Vikings for four years, $12.7 million. He received a $7.6 million signing bonus, and the team could opt for a fifth-year contract. Barr played in and started 12 games for the Vikings, winning NFC defensive player of the week for week 8. Barr's 2014 season was cut short due to an injury, and he was placed on injured reserve. He finished his rookie season with 70 combined tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles, three touchdown recoveries (one returned for a touchdown) and three pass deflections. He was a top candidate for defensive rookie of the year and one of three Viking defenders selected to the PFF All-NFC North Team, making him a top contender for defensive rookie of the year.

Barr made all 73 defensive plays against the San Francisco 49ers in his first game of the season, totaling a career-high 12 tackles. He had nine solo stops. Barr's first interception since being disqualified by the eventual Super Bowl 50 champions in Week 4, the Denver Broncos lost their first career interception on a pass given to him by Peyton Manning. Barr broke his left hand in Week 9 (November 8), but in Week 12 he had a career-high eight tackles (even solo), one sack, and forced two fumbles. He had 68 tackles, four tackles for loss, four quarterback hurries, eight quarterback hurries, one intercept, seven passes defensed, and three touchdowns forced fumbles for the season. Barr was admitted to his first Pro Bowl on January 25, 2016.

Barr struggled in the 2016 season, with only 37 solo tackles and two sacks. Barr was named to his second straight Pro Bowl after a rough season in which coach Zimmer said that Barr had a "tendency to coast."

The Vikings tried Barr's contract for the fifth year on May 1, 2017. Barr had 75 tackles, 33 solo tackles, 52 assisted tackles, and one sack. Barr was named to his third straight Pro Bowl on December 19, 2017.

Barr struck Aaron Rodgers out of the game on October 15, 2017, injuring his collarbone. Rodgers said in an interview with Conan O'Brien that Barr gave him "the finger" and told him to "suck it." Barr's hit was "illegal," according to Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. Barr also stated that Rodgers began trash-talking him, as well as saying that Rodgers "needs to get over it." Barr denied that he isn't a "dirty player," as well as stating that he did not intend to hurt Rodgers. Barr's hit on Rodgers was on sale at the Rosedale Center in March 2018. In a column that summarized the 2010s in Minnesota sports, the Minneapolis Star Tribune received a letter from Packers fans on December 22, 2019.

Barr intercepted a Drew Brees pass that was tipped at the line of scrimmage by teammate Everson Griffen in the Vikings' Divisional Round victory over the New Orleans Saints.

Barr was named to his fourth straight Pro Bowl. With 55 tackles, three sacks, and one forced fumble in 13 games, he finished the 2018 regular season. During a Week 3 matchup against the Buffalo Bills, Barr was fined $30,080 for a face mask penalty as well as horse collar penalties. Barr sustained a hamstring injury against the New York Jets on October 21, 2018, snaping a streak in 44 games that began with him. Barr went on to miss three games, but the Packers returned on November 25.

Barr will be a multi-year contract with the New York Jets, according to a press release on March 11, 2019. Barr changed his mind and rejoined the Vikings on March 13, 2019, on a five-year, $67.5 million deal with a $33 million guarantee. Barr intercepted Daniel Jones in Week 5 for his first interception since 2015, defeating the New York Giants in Week 5. Barr was fined on October 26, 2019 for a foul play on Matthew Stafford during a Week 7 matchup against the Detroit Lions. Barr made a season-high 11 tackles against the Seattle Seahawks on December 2, 2019. Barr has had 79 tackles, 54 solo tackles, 25 assisted tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 1 interception.

Barr caused a fumble on running back Matt Breida and recovered the game, but the Vikings lost 27–10.

Barr was placed on the Vikings' reserve/COVID-19 list on July 30, 2020, and he was activated from the list four days later. After breaking a torn pectoral muscle in Week 2, he was put on injured reserve on September 21, 2020.

Barr signed with the Dallas Cowboys on August 3, 2022.

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