Eric Barton is a former
American footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
linebackerA linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
who played for twelve seasons in the
National Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. He played
college footballCollege football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at
MarylandThe Maryland Terrapins football team represents the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision competition. The Terrapins compete within the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
before he was drafted by the
Oakland RaidersThe Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the fifth round of the
1999 NFL DraftThe 1999 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 17-18, 1999...
. He played for the Raiders from 1999–2003, the
New York JetsThe New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
from 2004–2008, and the
Cleveland BrownsThe Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
from 2009–2010.
Early years
Barton went to
Edison High SchoolThomas A. Edison High School is a high school in Rose Hill, Fairfax County, Virginia, administered by Fairfax County Public Schools.In the 1990s, the school's debate and forensics teams gained widespread recognition. The Policy Debate Team won the Harvard Tournament , the Glenbrooks , and two...
in Alexandria, Virginia.
College career
Barton attended the
University of MarylandThe University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
where he majored in
CriminologyCriminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society...
and criminal justice. Barton Earned All-American honors from the National Recruiting Advisor and an All-Atlantic Coast recognition from Blue Chip Illustrated Magazine and was rated 10th-best football player in Virginia by Super Prep Magazine as a senior at
Edison High SchoolThomas A. Edison High School is a high school in Rose Hill, Fairfax County, Virginia, administered by Fairfax County Public Schools.In the 1990s, the school's debate and forensics teams gained widespread recognition. The Policy Debate Team won the Harvard Tournament , the Glenbrooks , and two...
in
Alexandria, VirginiaAlexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
. He recorded more than 100 tackles as a
sophomoreSophomore is a term used in the United States to describe a student in the second year of study at high school or university.The word is also used as a synonym for "second", for the second album or EP released by a musician or group, the second movie of a director, or the second season of a...
,
junior"Junior" is a term used in the United States to describe a student in their 3rd year of study . A Junior is considered an upperclassman...
and
seniorSenior is a term used in the United States to describe a student in the 4th year of study .-High school:...
at Maryland, which helped land him fourth on the career tackles list. He also led the
ACCThe Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
in solo tackles as junior and senior. He was an All-ACC first-team selection as senior and led conference in total tackles (159) and average tackles per game (14.5).
Oakland Raiders
Barton was selected by the
Oakland RaidersThe Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the fifth round (146th overall) of the
1999 NFL DraftThe 1999 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 17-18, 1999...
.
He saw action in all of his 16 games in the
1999 NFL seasonThe 1999 NFL season was the 80th regular season of the National Football League. The Cleveland Browns returned to the field for the first time since the 1995 season...
, making three starts and finishing with 29 tackles and two sacks. He recorded a sack in the first play of his first NFL start and finished with, a team-high, eight tackles in Week 15 vs.
Tampa Bay BuccaneersThe Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
. He started and tallied 13 tackles at LB in
Super Bowl XXXVIISuper Bowl XXXVII was an American football game played on January 26, 2003 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 2002 regular season...
in a loss to the Buccaneers. He led the team for the ninth time on the season with a nine-tackle performance vs. the
Kansas City ChiefsThe Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
in the season finale.
New York Jets
Barton signed with the
New York JetsThe New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
as an unrestricted free agent in 2004. He registered nine or more tackles seven times in the
2004 NFL seasonThe 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 9, 2004 to January 2, 2005...
, including a AFC Wild Card victory over the
San Diego ChargersThe San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. He earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors as a result of nine tackles, one sack, one INT, two PD, one FF and one FR in Week 15 win vs. the
Seattle SeahawksThe Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
and led the defense with a career-high 16 tackles, including 12 solo and one for loss, in a defeat against the
Buffalo BillsThe Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. He was placed on the
Injured ReserveThe injured reserve list is a list of reserved players who are injured and unable to play for a period of time, used most prominently in the National Hockey League and National Football League . It is used because these leagues have a maximum number of players on the team roster, so placing a...
, for the first time in his career after suffering an ankle injury. He also became the first Jet Defender since 2000 to record a sack and interception on the same drive against the
Washington RedskinsThe Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
. He has played in 120 career Regular Season games with 85 starts and has recorded 680 tackles, 18.5 sacks, four INTs, 18 pass deflected, six forced fumbles and four fumble recovery in his career. So far he has posted four seasons with 100 or more total tackles.
Cleveland Browns
Barton signed with the
Cleveland BrownsThe Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
as an unrestricted free agent on March 13, 2009 and played 2 years with them. Up to the 2010 NFL season, after 12 years of play, he is the only player still active in the NFL among those drafted in the fifth round of the
1999 NFL DraftThe 1999 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 17-18, 1999...
. On February 9, 2011, Barton was released by the Browns.
Personal
Barton was adopted and met his brother,
Aaron Curry-Seattle Seahawks:On August 8, 2009, Curry signed a six-year, $60 million contract including $34 million guaranteed, the most money ever guaranteed to a non-quarterback rookie in NFL history....
, a linebacker for the
Oakland RaidersThe Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, and his birth mother, Chris Curry, for the first time October 30, 2010.
External links