4 reasons why the Vikings restructuring Anthony Barr was brilliant
By Adam Carlson
Barr may have reached his ceiling
Barr will enter the 2021 NFL season at 29-years-old. He will still be in his prime during what could be his final season with the Vikings, but there has to be the question regarding whether or not fans have seen the best the linebacker has to offer.
When looking at statistics, there are some things that are quickly identifiable. Barr has never recorded more than four sacks in a season and he only has 1.5 quarterback takedowns over the 16 games he played in over the course of the last two seasons.
Barr also has been dropping back into coverage more often, but the numbers aren’t there to support that either. The linebacker defended passes at a similar rate earlier in his career when he was guarding receivers less often.
The one area where Barr has been holding steady is his tackling. Of course, linebackers need to be good tacklers in the NFL, and 2019 had the defender set a career-high with 70 tackles. However, when looking at the production as a whole, his play hasn’t been anything to throw $13.5 million per year toward.