Barnidge played college football at Louisville from 2004 to 2007.[2] As a freshman, he had seven receptions for 85 yards and four touchdowns.[3] As a sophomore, he had 17 receptions for 240 yards and two touchdowns.[4] As a junior, he had 31 receptions for 511 yards and four touchdowns.[5] As a senior, he had 53 receptions for 655 yards and seven touchdowns. In the game against Middle Tennessee State, he had four receptions for 126 yards and two touchdowns to go along with a fumble recovery for a touchdown.[6][7] He played in 48 games, including 29 starts and recorded 108 receptions for 1,491 yards and 17 touchdowns. He majored in sports administration.[8]
With the Panthers, Barnidge's main impact came on special-teams. In the 2008 season, he appeared in fifteen games in the regular season and the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the Arizona Cardinals.[11] In the 2009 season, he had 12 receptions for 242 yards.[12] In 2010, he appeared in all 16 games.[13]
He missed the whole 2011 NFL season with a broken ankle suffered in a preseason practice.[14]
On November 26, 2012, Barnidge recorded his first professional touchdown reception against the Philadelphia Eagles on a 24-yard pass from Cam Newton.[15] Overall, he finished the 2012 season with six receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown.[16]
Cleveland Browns
On March 14, 2013, Barnidge was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an unrestricted free agent.[17] In the 2013 season, he had 13 receptions for 127 yards and two touchdowns.[18] In the 2014 season, he had 13 receptions for 156 yards.[19] During the 2015 season, Barnidge had a breakout year and finished with 79 receptions for 1,043 receiving yards and nine touchdowns (he had 44 receptions, 603 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns in his previous seven seasons combined).[20] His nine touchdowns tied Hall of Fame tight end Ozzie Newsome's franchise record set in 1979 and ranked No. 4 among all NFL tight ends in 2015.[21]
He was voted the best player on the Browns.[22] On December 10, 2015, Barnidge was signed to a 3-year extension worth around $12 million.[23]
After the 2015 season, Barnidge made his first Pro Bowl, being voted as an alternate.[24] He was ranked 94th on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016.[25]
On June 2, 2016, Barnidge underwent a sports hernia surgery.[26] He started all 16 games in 2016, catching 55 passes for 612 yards and two touchdowns.[27]
On April 28, 2017, Barnidge was released by the Browns.[28]
In 2011, Barnidge, along with friend and Louisville Cardinal teammate Breno Giacomini, then of the Seattle Seahawks, started a not-for-profit organization called American Football without Barriers. The organization hosted its first camp in China in March 2013.[29]
