Kirk Barron's Unique Journey Through Professional Football — So Far
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The saying goes that "life is a journey, not a destination," and former Purdue center Kirk Barron certainly knows that all too well early in his professional football career.
Since graduating from Purdue, Barron has gone to the National Football League, and then been unemployed. He had another NFL shot and then became a guinea pig for the new- look XFL this year. Through all his experiences, Barron has raised his expectations and now sets his sights on his dream of being a starter in the NFL.
The dream is not too far out his vision, either. Before the coronavirus pandemic ended the 2020 XFL season, Barron made the All-XFL Midseason Team. "I think I'm probably playing the best ball that I have in my entire career right now," Barron said by phone this week.
The path hasn't been easy for Barron up to this point, though. The 6-foot-2 inch, 300- pound lineman has had an interesting journey that has had many winds and bends along the way.
Barron was recruited to Purdue by former head coach Darrell Hazell in 2014, and wins were hard to come by during his time in West Lafayette. In the Hazell era, Purdue went a combined 9-33 — and just 3-24 in the Big Ten — one of the worst stretches in school history.
But soon after Purdue hired Jeff Brohm as its new head coach, a resurrection occurred quickly and it started with many of the players that Hazell had recruited stepping up in a big way. That included Barron, a natural-born leader. He was a captain in each if his final two seasons at Purdue in 2017 and 2018.
"We kind of came together and said, 'We're sick and tired of losing,' and Coach Brohm really allowed us to be ourselves,'' Barron said. "It allowed us to make it a players-first team." His role expanded on the team as he made 39 consecutive starts at center for the Boilermakers.
Kirk Barron shows off the Old Oaken Bucket.
The wins followed shortly after that culture change, as Purdue won seven games in 2017, clinching a Foster Farms Bowl win, and then won six games in 2018, including an emotional win over No. 2 Ohio State and a bowl appearance in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl.
Barron then pursued his NFL dream, but it was nothing like he would have ever imagined. A life of luxury? Certainly not.
Twists and turns? Absolutely.
Last April, he flew out to Miami for a rookie minicamp invite with the Dolphins. "We didn't have a locker, we didn't have anything. We had a couple of chairs set up in the locker room for like 10 guys," Barron said.
On the last day of camp, Barron was let go by the Dolphins. While he was at the airport to fly home, the Dolphins called him on his cell phone. They let him know that they were signing him after all to their 90th — and final — roster spot.
But two weeks later, a Dolphins linebacker was injured and they needed additional depth at that position. To make room, Barron was cut again. "That's when I kind of figured out football at the next level is cut-throat," Barron said.
Barron was out of work for three months until the Cincinnati Bengals called up the Mishawaka, Ind. native days just days before their fourth and final preseason game last August. He hit the ground running quickly, flying in on a Tuesday, learning the offense in two days and then playing the majority of the game that Thursday.
He played well, grading out as the top offensive lineman in the game, but still was cut by the Bengals. Barron didn't get discouraged, however, and searched for the next shot to play at the professional level.
The new XFL was starting, and Barron was selected by the Seattle Dragons in the league's inaugural draft as the 50th overall pick in the offensive lineman category.
Barron was a backup at the start of camp earlier this year, but after an injury to the Dragons' starter, Barron started the second game of the season at center and thrived and Seattle won the game.
Then, after an injury to the left guard, the Dragons slid Barron into that spot on the interior line and he played formidably well in three straight games. His play stood out well enough that he made an XFL All-Midseason honors list.
"I kind of ran with that opportunity and made sure no one was able to take that spot again from me," Barron said.
Seattle Dragons center Kirk Barron gets ready to snap the ball in an XFL game against Tampa Bay last month. (USA TODAY Sports)
The XFL was a good fit for him, he said. It was more laid-back than the NFL, where chugging alcoholic seltzers after games was okay, and there were no NFL-like fines for things like not wearing the right socks, which he experienced in his stint with the Bengals.
"It was actually a really cool experience," Barron said on the new team and the new league. "No one really knew what to expect, so it kind of gave me an opportunity to become something of a leader on that team.
"That's what I really enjoyed about it, because I could be more myself around the guys and that's how I kind of imagine what being a veteran NFL offensive lineman would be like.".
Even though the XFL season was only half-way done when it was shut down on March 12 because of COVID-19, Barron was thankful for the opportunity to play in a league that was "pretty similar to the NFL in talent."
"The XFL is still paying out our contracts, so that's awesome for them to do that," Barron said. "I think for the league shutting down, it was the responsible thing to do. It just kind of hurts some of the guys that were banking on this film to go out to NFL teams."
Seattle was one of the first COVID-19 hotspots in the country, and Barron thinks he might have had the virus. He was never tested, but he had the symptoms.
"I remember like the first week of February when I got there, I had a horrible cough, I was really weak, I had a fever and I was like, 'Well, this isn't good,''' he said. "I actually think I had it before the pandemic broke out and no one really knew.''
On Thursday, the XFL announced that they suspended all operations, laying off employees and plans are unknown to return in 2021. For players like Barron, this is just one less opportunity for them to rely on.
But it's also far from the end of Kirk Barron's football career. He's hoping to get a call from an NFL team after the draft on April 23-25.
"In my head, I'm always the greatest person to step on the field," Barron said. "I think in the game of football, if you don't have that mentality, you actually might get killed out there playing if you don't think you're the best."
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