Last week against Houston, in his fourth season in the league, Krys Barnes picked up his first NFL interception of his career and turned heads with his 46-yard return.
The UCLA linebacker’s defensive playing time increased last week when Josh Woods replaced team captain Kyzir White as the defensive signal caller during the game after White suffered an arm injury.
He may have reached up to 20 mph or so. For a brief moment, I was running behind him and thought, “He’s got this.” Safety Budda Baker of the Cardinals stated, “He’s scoring this.” “So kudos to Krys Barnes for getting that INT and, you know, giving us another opportunity to win the game.”
During his first two NFL seasons with the Green Bay Packers, Barnes started 23 games. He and Woods fought hard during the preseason for a starting spot at inside linebacker, and he was able to accept a reserve role that will now play a bigger role going forward, especially this week against the Los Angeles Rams.
“I was somewhat aware that it was a possibility going into this year. Regardless of whether I’m a starter or a backup, I think that’s what I want to be like every day,” Barnes remarked. “No matter what my role is, just come in here and be with my teammates, be with my guys and when my number’s called, do my job to the best of my ability and let my play speak for itself.”
Like many teammates, Barnes has cherished the relationship he’s developed with his Cardinals teammates despite a challenging season. As he watched his defensive teammates make a concerted effort to block for him during his interception return, he sensed it.
“I believe that we all simply feed off one another. Barnes remarked, “We all know how hard we work in this facility,” citing instances in which his defensive teammates made a significant play. “We just need to keep the momentum going and spread that contagious energy everywhere because we’re all so excited for each other. And just have fun on game day.”
