Chiefs Release Connor Barth

So much for competition at the kicker position for the 2009 Chiefs.

The Chiefs announced early Tuesday evening that they have released second-year kicker Connor Barth.

Unless there’s another kicker that special teams guru Steve Hoffman has found to join the team, it looks like seventh-round draft choice Ryan Succop will be the Chiefs kicker for the ‘09 season.

Barth’s release also indicates the Chiefs are ready to conclude a deal with one of their four unsigned draft choices. After this move, the Chiefs have 81 players on their roster. Another player will have to be moved off the roster to bring the total to the NFL limit of 80 players under contract for the start of training camp on Friday. Players without contracts do not count against the roster limit.

Last season, Barth kicked in 10 games after he was brought back to replace Nick Novak in late October. He was 10 of 12 on field goals and hit all 24 of his PAT kicks. Barth was signed last year as a rookie free agent out of the University of North Carolina.

During the off-season work, Succop displayed a stronger leg, but Barth appeared to be more consistent in his accuracy. Obviously the coaching staff believes that Succop can be accurate enough to provide the help the team will need in scoring points.


25 Responses to “Chiefs Release Connor Barth”

  • July 28, 2009  - anonymous says:

    WOW!

    This really is a shock, I’m surprised. As the Author said “so much for competition” at the kicker position.


  • July 28, 2009  - anonymous says:

    Tthis makes “Mr. Irrelevant” Mr. VERY Relevant!


  • July 28, 2009  - get real says:

    There will be someone else, got to save the leg for real games. Might as well cut the driftwood and make room for unsigned draft picks. Of course if Succop pulls something, we get to scramble to find a body.


  • July 28, 2009  - ILChiefsFan says:

    Indicates to me that a lot of positions are wide open.


  • July 28, 2009  - Blake says:

    wow this is a surprise, I thought Succup would end up winning just cause of his much stronger leg and he is better on kickoffs but I figured there would be a competition through training camp.


  • July 28, 2009  - alex k says:

    Had to be kickoffs, he was brutal in that department.

    Plus, Succop has quite a leg.


  • July 28, 2009  - findthedr says:

    The chiefs handed the kicking job to Medlock without competition…and that proved to be a disaster.

    Lets hope this isnt a repeat.


  • July 28, 2009  - Scott says:

    Barth was a below average kicker, at best.

    Will Succop be any better? That will remain to be seen.

    But we need a guy who can put kickoffs into the endzone, or at least to the goal-line…and be able to hit some long-range field goals, too.

    Really no surprise. It was the easiest “cut” on the team. At least one more to go before camp starts. Wonder who will be next?


  • July 28, 2009  - Dave says:

    Bob, despite what you wrote here, your recaps from OTAs actually show Succop as the more accurate of the two.


  • July 28, 2009  - Rin Tin Tin says:

    Another poor move by the dum dum duo ’search’ & ‘check’

    “Any 22 will do” - remember? your proclamation clown

    Rin makes you eat your words yet again! heh heh heh!

    daddy-o


  • July 29, 2009  - mike says:

    hey donald washington can sign now , dallas sign thier player that was took in front of wasington and player behind him is signed also , also mageee , lawerence can sign also since player taken before them and after them sign , so good news for the chiefs , we could get them sign by wendesday sometime. go chiefs , sorry its late wanted comment that happen lol


  • July 29, 2009  - dripping with sarcasm says:

    Perhaps we should go back with Medlock huh? Man I wish Herm was here. He really locked this position down during his time here


  • July 29, 2009  - dripping with sarcasm says:

    And now it appears Pioli and Haley don’t know what they are doing. I agree with Rin on this one.


  • July 29, 2009  - Mark says:

    Succup had this team made on draft day, as at least a kickoff specialist. He has a great leg. If he struggles with FG’s in camp, they can always resign Barth, who is exceedingly accurate in short range, or some other kicker that is decent at FG’s, but can’t kick off. There are always guys like that on the street. But they are giving Succup every oppotunity for now.


  • July 29, 2009  - Scott says:

    No way. Barth will be picked up by another team because he is a great kicker. I changed my mind from my earlier post because I’m wishy washy.


  • July 29, 2009  - Lee says:

    There’s always a veteran kicker who can do what Barth was doing. Hit the PATs and FGs inside of 40. Chiefs have long needed a kicker with upside and a stronger leg. Though I’m a bit surprised, I don’t think this is a big deal. Barth was competent and that’s about it.


  • July 29, 2009  - B in SC says:

    Barth is a “great” kicker? “Conner” Barth? There are a few kickers I would consider great, and I don’t believe I could squeeze him into that group. While I normally wouldn’t feel this kicker issue was a big deal, I think KC will need every point it can get this year along with being able to pin the other team deep. Living in SC I can say that I have seen Succop many times and the guy can just crush the ball. Was always a weapon for the Gamecocks.

    Good move, now on to bigger issues.


  • July 29, 2009  - chiefsfan says:

    We also had Dave Rayner before who had a leg on him, but had problems with consistency. Hopefully this isn’t a repeat case!


  • July 29, 2009  - Scott says:

    B in SC,

    The post where it says “great kicker” was not made by me. It was made by someone else using my name (my guess would be Rin). My original post is about #8 down…and the only one I made on this subject.


  • July 29, 2009  - MarkC says:

    2008 wasn’t as good, but he kicked most of the year with a sports hernia

    YEAR FGM FGA PCT XPM XPA PTS
    2008 20 30 66.7 30 30 90

    Carolina’s punter and placekicker returns for his final season in the Garnet & Black… strong-legged senior who has handled all three kicking chores: kickoffs, punts and placements for the Gamecocks… is a postseason honors candidate again in 2008… one of the top returning placekickers in college football who should be a candidate for the Lou Groza Award along with all-conference and All-America consideration… was a semi-finalist for the Groza Award in 2006… was the Joe Morrison Award winner in the spring as the team’s Offensive Player of the Spring… is 29-for-39 in field goal attempts in his career (74.4 percent) and is 16-for-17 (94.1 percent) inside 40 yards… has converted 22 of his last 26 attempts (84.6 percent) from inside 47… has scored 161 points in his career, ranking 10th on Carolina’s all-time list… averging 42.3 yards on 85 career punts.

    2007: Was an Associated Press honorable mention All-SEC selection… earned SEC first-team preseason honors as a placekicker by the media and was a second-team selection by the coaches…. also earned preseason second-team All-SEC honors as a punter by both the media and coaches… named to the preseason Lou Groza Award watch list after being a semi-finalist for the award in 2006… also named to the Ray Guy Award watch list… was 13-for-17 in field goal attempts… three of his four misses came from at least 47 yards out (47, 48 and 50)… kicked three field goals in the 16-12 win at Georgia, earning SEC Special Teams Player of the Week honors… also punted seven times for a 40.7 yard average against the Bulldogs… punted five times for a 44.8 yard average against LSU… averaged 42.0 yards on six punts in the win over Kentucky, including a 52-yarder… matched his career-high with a 58-yard punt against Vanderbilt… hit a season-long 49-yard field goal at Tennessee with just under two minutes remaining to give the Gamecocks’ a 24-21 lead… also handled the kick off duties… averaged 41.6 yards per punt, fourth in the SEC and 39th in the country, with a long of 58, and averaged 64.0 yards on his kickoffs.

    2006: Earned second-team All-SEC honors as selected by the league’s coaches… a semi-finalist for the Groza Award… connected on 16-of-20 of his field goal tries… his 80.0 percent accuracy was fourth in the SEC… actually only missed two - a 51-yarder that hit the left upright against Georgia and a 33-yarder against Houston in the Liberty Bowl… other two misses were blocked… was 10-for-11 from inside 47 yards… booted a 50-yarder against Tennessee and a career-high 55-yarder - the second longest in school history - against Vanderbilt… also had a 55-yarder taken off the board against Florida due to a penalty… averaged 42.8 yards per field goal attempt and 40.1 yards per field goal made… connected on 37-of-39 extra points for 85 points overall… his 85 points led the team and was the third-highest single-season total in school history… averaged 6.5 points per game, fourth in the SEC and the third-highest mark among kickers… 29 of 73 kickoff attempts (40 percent) were touchbacks… averaged 43.7 yards per punt, which would have ranked third in the SEC with enough punts to qualify… was the SEC Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts against Mississippi State when he connected on all three of his field goal attempts (39, 35 and 47 yards) and punted six times for a 48.7 yard average… also averted a certain blocked punt and scrambled 16 yards for a first down, leading to a Carolina score.

    2005: Handled the kickoff chores as a true freshman and was the backup placekicker… kicked off 59 times for a 62.3 yard average with 29 touchbacks (49 pct.)… attempted two field goals, missing from 50 yards against UCF and from 46 versus Georgia.

    https://gamecocksonline.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/succop_ryan00.html


  • July 29, 2009  - Josh says:

    I hate myself, and my mother is quite a skanky woman.


  • July 29, 2009  - Scott says:

    All the posts with my name on them before this one were also mine. It’s hard to keep track because I use so many different usernames.


  • July 29, 2009  - Rin Tin Tin says:

    I eat my mother’s feces.


  • July 29, 2009  - Scott says:

    Sorry, I was posting under Rin’s name. It should have read ‘I Scott eat my mother’s feces’.


  • July 29, 2009  - Tenand6 says:

    The fake field goal will always be a possibility with Succup. He can punt and we’ll use that play multiple times this year. He was a great pick.


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