UPDATE: Former Vikings LB Anthony Barr Won’t Sign with Saints
Josh Frey
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On Monday, former Vikings LB Anthony Barr had a workout with the New Orleans Saints. A day later, it appeared that Barr was set to sign with the Saints, assuming he passed a physical.
Dianna Russini of ESPN reported that both Barr and RB Kareem Hunt would sign with New Orleans, tweeting, “The New Orleans Saints are expected to sign both Kareem Hunt and Anthony Barr, if both players pass their physicals and are in shape, per sources.”
However, in the aftermath of the visit, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network tweeted that Barr was not going to sign a deal. Instead, he will keep his options open. Garafolo wrote, “Free agent LB Anthony Barr had a good visit with the #Saints but is departing without a deal, source says. New Orleans remains in play for him, but he has interest from other teams and could make more visits in the near future.”
Hunt remains a free agent following the visit as well.
Barr was selected with the 9th overall pick by the Vikings in the 2014 NFL Draft, and he immediately started 12 games for the team. During that rookie season, he put together 70 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, 3 passes defended, and 2 forced fumbles.
In the following years, the linebacker would emerge as one of the best talents in the entire league. He was named to the Pro Bowl in every season from 2015-18. Barr’s career was highlighted by a 2017 season in which he recorded 75 tackles and nine TFLs during the regular season. The Vikings were the best in the league in both points allowed and yards allowed, making their way to the NFC Championship Game largely behind the efforts of both Barr and Eric Kendricks. Kendricks would record 113 tackles that season as well.
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.
The linebacker recorded 72 tackles and just three TFLs during his last year as the Vikings finished the season 8-9 but 6-5 with him in the lineup. In all, Barr recorded 39 TFLs and forced eight fumbles while intercepting five passes over his eight years with the Vikings. His 39 TFLs rank 13th all-time in Vikings franchise history.
Barr signed a one-year contract with the Dallas Cowboys prior to the 2022 season. In Dallas, he recorded 58 tackles, a pair of tackles for loss, a sack, and a pass defended over the course of 14 games. 10 of those games were starts for Barr on a Cowboys defense that gave up the sixth-fewest points during the season.
So, the Barr free agency saga continues. The 31-year-old free agent will continue his search for a new team with less than a month remaining until the NFL regular season kicks off on Thursday, September 7th.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.