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Connor Barth

Saints Move Roster To 53

September 3rd, 2016 at 6:42pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Saints have now announced their full list of transactions that bring them down to 53 players.

Cut:

Placed on IR:

Barnes signed with the Saints last Sunday, meaning his stay in New Orleans lasted less than a week. In 11 NFL seasons, the 34-year-old has seen action in more than 150 games (117 starts) with the Jaguars and Raiders. Barnes lost his starting job in Oakland last season, but still appeared in 14 games.

NFC South Notes: Saints, Short, Panthers

June 17th, 2016 at 11:23am CST by Ben Levine

The Saints will ultimately have to choose between kickers Kai Forbath and Connor Barth. Unfortunately, as Evan Woodbury of NOLA.com notes, making that decision is easier said than done.

The duo have incredibly similar career numbers, and their performances during OTAs have also been rather even. Therefore, coach Sean Payton can’t solely rely on the raw numbers to make his final decision.

“These two guys are almost identical all the way back through their college years,” Payton said.

The two will have an opportunity to separate themselves during training camp, but so far, the organization is content with what they’ve seen from the pair.

“Both have experience and we feel like we’ve got a real good opportunity to come away from training camp with a good measuring stick,” Payton said. “We feel good about the way both of them are hitting it.”

Let’s check out some more notes from the NFC South…

  • As RosterResource.com shows, the Saints‘ running back depth chart is rather packed right now. Featuring Mark Ingram, C.J. Spiller, Tim Hightower, Travaris Cadet, Daniel Lasco and Marcus Murphy, coach Payton could have some disgruntled players if he ultimately keeps all six running backs. “I would be disappointed if somebody wasn’t a little ticked off,” Hightower told the Associated Press. “I’m a competitor. I don’t want to come off the football field.”
  • The Eagles recently signed defensive tackle Fletcher Cox to a six-year, $103MM deal, including $55.5MM in guaranteed money. As Jonathan Jones of the Charlotte Observer writes, this could complicate negotiations with Panthers defensive lineman Kawann Short. The 27-year-old sat out the majority of OTAs in pursuit of a new contract, although he did attend the mandatory minicamp earlier this week. For what it’s worth, Cox and Short finished with similar numbers in 2014, and Short actually rated better in Pro Football Focus’ ranking of interior defenders (subscription required).
  • The Panthers certainly recognize the difficulties of finalizing a Short extension, as coach Ron Rivera indicated the other day. “I heard about that one,” he said. “(Someone) wrote that it’s going to complicate things. And it probably will. So we’ll see how things unfold.”
  • After having seen a breakdown in contract talks with former Panthers (and current Redskins) cornerback Josh Norman, Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports sees similarities in the Short negotiations. While the writer doesn’t necessarily envision the team letting go of another starter, the presence of first-round pick Vernon Butler could make Short expendable.

Saints To Sign Connor Barth

May 19th, 2016 at 7:16pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Free agent kicker Connor Barth is on his way to New Orleans to sign with the Saints, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). Barth will replace Josh Scobee, whom the Saints released Tuesday.

Barth was the most established among several kickers who tried out for the Saints at their rookie camp last week, and they’ll be Connor Barthhis fourth NFL employer. Barth has spent the majority of his career with the NFC South rival Buccaneers, who released him earlier this month after using a second-round pick on Roberto Aguayo. Nonetheless, Barth is is coming off a solid season, having converted 23 of 28 field goals and a more impressive 25 of 26 extra points. Overall, the 30-year-old has made 139 of 164 career field goal tries, good for an 84.8 percent success rate.

Barth is now one of two veteran kicking options the Saints have, joining Kai Forbath, and it’s presumed that the duo will battle for a roster spot. Forbath has a similar career success rate (84.1) on 82 tries, but he converted just 10 of 15 field goals last season and finished with 10 fewer touchbacks on kickoffs than Barth – albeit in 12 fewer attempts.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NFC Notes: Washington, Floyd, Palmer, Saints

May 14th, 2016 at 4:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

Kyshoen Jarrett has visited several specialists this offseason in hopes of reaching a conclusion regarding the nerve damage the Washington safety suffered in Week 17 of his rookie season. The second-year player hasn’t done any work with the team this offseason, and Jay Gruden remains uncertain on Jarrett’s timetable, John Keim of ESPN.com reports.

It remains a possibility that Jarrett misses his entire second season, Mike Jones of the Washington Post reports (on Twitter).

A sixth-round pick last year, the now-23-year-old Jarrett forced a fumble and made 38 tackles as a rookie. The Virginia Tech product started five games for Washington and played in all 16 before going down against the Cowboys in what turned out to be a meaningless contest.

Washington has converted DeAngelo Hall into a safety, signed David Bruton and drafted linebacker/safety Su’a Cravens to help its back line.

Here’s some more on Washington, along with the latest coming out of the NFC.

  • Although Cravens is listed on Washington’s roster as a safety, the former USC talent worked exclusively at inside linebacker during the team’s minicamp, Jones tweets. Cravens lined up at outside ‘backer and at safety with the Trojans, but his professional employer prefers he first acclimate to the inside spot before branching out to nickel and safety assimilation, per Jones.
  • The size disparity between Leonard Floyd and the Bears‘ other primary outside linebackers will be significant this season. DC Vic Fangio expects the team’s top rookie to weigh between 230 and 235 pounds this season, Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune reports. Contrast that with Pernell McPhee and Lamarr Houston, who are both over 270, and it’s a rather notable chasm between players who play the same position. Fangio said multiple times during an interview with Chicago-area media Saturday he wasn’t concerned about the ex-Georgia edge player’s weight. “I’m sure there’s going to be a play or two every game where you’re going to say, ‘Jeez, he’s not heavy enough,’ or, ‘He’s too light,’” Fangio said. “Hopefully there’ll be a few plays every game, too, that we say, ‘Well, jeez, we didn’t have anybody who could have done that in the past.’ He is what he is.”
  • Carson Palmer‘s work with Cardinals consultant Brett Fischer last year helped strengthen his throwing arm, with wideouts and defensive backs noticing quickly he was throwing harder than he had in 2014, Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic reports. Fischer worked with pitchers Randy Johnson and Max Scherzer before aiding Palmer.
  • Kickers Connor Barth and Nate Freese tried out for the Saints today during a workout that consisted of 44 tryout players, Evan Woodberry of NOLA.com reports. Freese was a seventh-round Lions draft choice in 2014. The Saints have Kai Forbath and Josh Scobee on their roster. New Orleans also worked out former Packers seventh-round defensive lineman C.J. Wilson, who played with the Packers from 2010-13, saw short stints with the Raiders and Lions the past two seasons. Entering what would be his age-29 season, Wilson has made 19 career starts and 6.5 sacks.

Extra Points: Hall, Falcons, Wentz, Saints

May 14th, 2016 at 12:30pm CST by Ben Levine

Some assorted notes from around the NFL on this Saturday afternoon…

  • The Falcons won’t be signing veteran cornerback Leon Hall, according to ESPN.com’s Vaughn McClure. The 31-year-old auditioned for Atlanta last week, and considering coach Dan Quinn’s comments regarding the player’s injury history, McClure presumes that Hall didn’t check out medically.
  • Despite suggesting that every team deserves an ‘A’ for their draft efforts, Falcons owner Arthur Blank was particularly happy with his team’s haul. “You think from our perspective, I would give our coach and general manager Thomas (Dimitroff) a grade A because I know that every single position they drafted very specifically for exactly what the coach wanted and the coaching needs in terms of defense or in terms of the offense,” Blank told Doug Roberson of AJC.com. “Hopefully, that will play out in a successful way over the next couple of years.”
  • Eagles rookie quarterback Carson Wentz isn’t anticipating any issues with teammate Sam Bradford. “I think the relationship with him, and really, the other quarterbacks in the room, I think it’ll be great,” Wentz told Les Bowen of Philly.com.“I think it’ll be a really competitive atmosphere. Hopefully, we’ll all learn together and grow together and really push each other, and ultimately (that will) lead to benefiting the team and winning a lot of ballgames.” An April report suggested that Bradford wanted out of Philly.
  • ESPN’s Mike Triplett passes along (via Twitter) a trio of veterans auditioning for the Saints: kicker Connor Barth and defensive linemen Matt Shaughnessy and C.J. Wilson.

Buccaneers Release Connor Barth

May 2nd, 2016 at 2:10pm CST by Luke Adams

2:10pm: The Buccaneers have formally confirmed the release of Barth, announcing that they’ve also cut defensive end Martin Ifedi, who had signed a futures deal in January. Per Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune (Twitter link), Barth requested his release from the Bucs, hoping for the opportunity to find a new home elsewhere.

11:06am: After trading up in the draft to select Florida State kicker Roberto Aguayo in the second round, the Buccaneers will release veteran kicker Connor Barth today, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link).Connor Barth

[RELATED: Bucs trade up to No. 59, select Roberto Aguayo]

The move had been expected since the moment the Buccaneers turned in their draft card for Aguayo — the team wasn’t going used a second-round pick on a kicker, only to have him compete for a job. Barth had been cut and re-signed by the Bucs multiple times in the past, but he’s unlikely to return this time, barring an injury to the team’s rookie kicker.

Last season, after opening the regular-season schedule with Kyle Brindza handling kicking duties, the Buccaneers made a change several weeks into the season, bringing back Barth to replace the struggling Brindza. The 30-year-old ultimately made 23 of 28 field goal attempts (82.1%), along with 25 of 26 extra point tries.

Barth had been in line to earn a $1.333MM salary in 2016, but that figure was non-guaranteed. Tampa Bay will clear the entire amount from its books by cutting Barth, creating a little extra cap flexibility.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NFC Notes: Amukamara, Bucs, Packers, Boldin

October 17th, 2015 at 4:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

Let’s look at some of the news coming out of NFC locales Saturday afternoon.

  • Prince Amukamara‘s latest injury, a partially torn pectoral muscle expected to sideline the Giants cornerback for multiple games, could cost him millions in free agency, writes Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News. Currently playing on his fifth-year option, Amukamara profiles as one of the top corners on next year’s market, joining Sean Smith and Leon Hall in a thin class. A former first-round pick, the 26-year-old Amukamara’s played in 16 games just once (2013) and has been available for double-digit contests just twice in four seasons. Vacchiano reports the talented-yet-brittle corner’s injury history represents why Big Blue hasn’t been negotiating an extension with him.
  • Now back with the Bucs, Connor Barth generated a public apology of sorts from Tampa Bay GM Jason Licht, who expressed regret over choosing rookie Kyle Brindza over the veteran Barth. “In hindsight, I shouldn’t have let him go,” Licht told Sirius XM radio (via Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune). The Bucs cut Brindza after he endured a horrendous start that included two errant extra points and six misssed field goals, and brought back Barth, an accurate field goal specialist but one with a weaker kickoff leg. “(Barth) has always been a steady kicker, but his kickoff leg has always been inconsistent, to put it mildly,’’ Licht said. “But (after Barth hit five touchbacks in eight kickoffs in Week 5) I asked him where that came from and he said he had been working on it. I think he realized that was his best chance to stick around for a long time.”
  • After Steve Spurrier announced his retirement this week, former Packers GM Ron Wolf recalled twice trying to offer him the Packers’ head-coaching job — once in 1999 and again in 2000 — but the longtime SEC coach showed no interest in American pro sports’ smallest city, according to Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The Packers hired Ray Rhodes to succeed Mike Holmgren in 1999 then after firing him brought in Mike Sherman instead of Spurrier, who ended up coaching in Washington from 2002-03.
  • 49ers wideout Anquan Boldin acknowledged he achieved what he wanted to with the Ravens and now accepts his former team’s decision to trade him for a sixth-round pick. “I went there to win a championship, so job done,” Boldin told Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. “I understand the business part of it now. No team is the same the following year. It wasn’t a big surprise.”

NFC Notes: Saints, 49ers, Barth, Eagles

October 8th, 2015 at 8:47am CST by Luke Adams

The Saints won’t displace Zach Hocker right now, even after auditioning several kickers, as Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports tweets. Hocker missed a potential game-winning field goal on Sunday night against the Cowboys before New Orleans won in overtime, and missed a field goal and an extra point in the team’s Week 2 loss to Tampa Bay. However, he’ll get at least one more opportunity to hang onto the job going forward.

In yesterday’s workout for the Saints, Randy Bullock hit all of his field goal attempts, while Kai Forbath missed a 53-yarder but made up for it with a 55-yard make, per Garafolo. Kyle Brindza, recently released by the Bucs, also got a look from the Saints, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

Here’s more from around the NFC:

  • Head coach Jim Tomsula disputed the notion that the 49ers added inside linebacker Gerald Hodges because they’re unhappy with the way starter Michael Wilhoite has played. “There’s nothing there,” Tomsula said, according to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. Tomsula went on to explain that the 49ers have liked Hodges since he came out in the 2013 draft. On Tuesday, San Francisco sent center Nick Easton and a sixth-round draft choice to the Vikings for Hodges.
  • Buccaneers kicker Connor Barth is happy to return to Tampa Bay, telling Fred Goodall of The Associated Press that the winding road he took back to the Bucs isn’t unusual for someone who plays his position. “You’ve got to look at as a business, and you’re kind of a consultant,” Barth said. “There are 32 jobs. It’s just a blessing to play and be one of 32 guys.” Barth was the club’s full-time kicker from 2009 to 2012.
  • According to Eagles head coach Chip Kelly, Drew Brees was a key point of reference when Philadelphia decided this offseason to acquire Sam Bradford, an oft-injured quarterback with significant potential. Brees had been considered an injury risk due to a shoulder issue when the Saints first acquired him. Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer has the details on Kelly’s Bradford/Brees comparison, along with the quotes from the head coach.
  • After signing a five-year deal worth nearly $39MM in the offseason, Bears pass rusher Pernell McPhee is off to a hot start, and joked that he wants J.J. Watt money now, as Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com writes.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Buccaneers Re-Sign Connor Barth

October 6th, 2015 at 9:23am CST by Luke Adams

9:23am: The Buccaneers have now announced Barth’s signing in a press release, making it official.

9:08am: A day after waiving Kyle Brindza, the Buccaneers have found a new kicker — their old kicker. Tampa Bay is re-signing Connor Barth, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). We heard yesterday that Barth, Kai Forbath, Randy Bullock, and Billy Cundiff were working out for the Bucs.

Barth, 29, was the Bucs’ full-time kicker from 2009 to 2012, converting on 84.3% of his field goal attempts during that stretch, including 12 of 18 from beyond 50 yards. After being sidelined for the entire 2013 season, Barth signed with the Broncos last season and made 15 of 16 field goals for Denver. However, he was cut by both the Broncos and the Bucs prior to the 2015 season.

Brindza initially beat out Barth – and Patrick Murray – for the Buccaneers’ kicking job this season, but the rookie missed seven kicks (five field goals and two extra points) in Tampa Bay’s last two games, forcing the club to make a change. Yesterday, Bucs head coach Lovie Smith indicated that the team’s top priority in a new career was accuracy, so the fact that Barth isn’t known for his booming kickoffs is a secondary concern for Tampa Bay.

It’ll be a two-year deal for Barth, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter).

Barth Among Kickers Working Out For Bucs

October 5th, 2015 at 2:24pm CST by Luke Adams

Just over a month after they released him, the Buccaneers will be working out Connor Barth this week as they search for a new kicker, according to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Barth, who lost the starting job to Kyle Brindza prior to the season, will be one of a handful of veteran kickers trying out for Tampa Bay.

Along with Barth, Randy Bullock, Kai Forbath, and Billy Cundiff will also be auditioning for the Buccaneers, says Garafolo.

Bullock recent lost the job in Houston, missing a 43-yard field goal and a pair of extra points through the Texans’ first three games. Forbath nearly replaced Bullock in Houston, having been the team’s second choice, as he was in Philadelphia when he auditioned for the Eagles. Cundiff was also part of that tryout with the Eagles, but hasn’t seen regular season action since he was with the Browns last season.

The most interesting name of the bunch is Barth, however — Brindza beat him out for the Bucs’ kicking job this season, but the rookie missed seven kicks (five field goals and two extra points) in Tampa Bay’s last two games, forcing the team to make a change. The veteran Barth was the Bucs’ kicker from 2009 to 2012, and looked poised to regain the job this year before Brindza surpassed him in the preseason.

The Bucs figure to decide on a new kicker and get him locked up within the next couple days.

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