Anthony Barr Heads to Dallas
Josh Frey
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After a long offseason of waiting to see what would happen to linebacker Anthony Barr, it seems we finally have an answer. The longtime Minnesota Viking is headed down south to play for the Dallas Cowboys. It seems that George Paton’s Denver Broncos were in the mix as well, but Dallas ultimately won out. The move comes a day after Chris Herndon made a free agency decision to head in that area of the country as well, signing with the New Orleans Saints.
Barr joins the Cowboys and reunites with a former defensive coordinator, George Edwards, who was with the Vikings from 2014-19 as the DC. He coached Barr for his first five seasons in the NFL, playing a role in Barr becoming a four-time Pro Bowler from 2015-18. Edwards is now a defensive assistant coach in Dallas under head coach Mike McCarthy and DC Dan Quinn.
It’s hard to talk about the last decade of Minnesota Vikings football and not bring up Barr. He and Eric Kendricks created a truly dynamic duo for the Vikings at the linebacker position, and over the course of their tenure together, Minnesota made the playoffs three times and won the NFC North twice.
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The production culminated in 2017 when they helped the Vikings rank first in the entire NFL in both points allowed and yards allowed en route to the NFC Championship Game. Barr recorded 75 tackles and nine TFLs during the regular season that year.
In the end, Anthony Barr finished his tenure with the Vikings struggling with injuries. He missed all but two games in 2020 because of a torn pectoral muscle, and he played just 11 games in 2021. He recorded 72 tackles and just three TFLs last year as the Vikings finished the season 8-9 but 6-5 with him in the lineup. In all, the former ninth overall pick recorded 39 TFLs and forced eight fumbles while intercepting five passes over his eight years with the Vikings.
Barr now joins a Cowboys squad that features very talented linebackers at the top of the depth chart in Micah Parsons and Leighton Vander Esch but lacks quality depth behind the starters. They are hoping Barr can provide that veteran stability for the young stars. Dallas will travel to U.S. Bank Stadium this season to play the Vikings on November 20th.
