Cody Barton

7 seasons, 4 teams — Seattle, Washington, Denver, now Tennessee. A career rotational LB who became a starter.

Barton was a 2019 3rd-round pick (88th) out of Utah. He spent 2019-2021 as a Seahawks rotational LB (12-14 games/year, 30-35 tackles).

2022 changed everything: forced into the starting MLB role next to Jordyn Brooks, he produced 132 tackles in 18 games — an explosion that priced him out of Seattle.

Since then it's been one-year deals: WAS 2023, DEN 2024, TEN 2025. He's averaged 105+ tackles per year as a starter at every stop.

132 tackles in 2022 — the most by any 4th-year LB in Seahawks history.

Barton entered 2022 as a career backup — 97 tackles across 3 prior seasons combined. Then Bobby Wagner left in free agency. Barton stepped into the green-dot defensive signal-caller role and produced 132 tackles (75 solo, 57 assist) in 18 games, plus 2 sacks, 7 PDs, and the team's most defensive snaps.

The 2022 line is the kind of number that usually triggers a long-term extension. Instead, the Seahawks let him walk — and Barton has been on single-year deals every year since, counting on himself.

11 pass deflections in 2025 — career high, more than his prior 4 seasons combined.

Barton's 11 PDs in 2025 is more than he had in any single year prior — and matches his entire 4-year Seahawks total. For an off-ball LB to record 10+ PDs in a season is genuinely rare; it suggests heavy zone coverage usage and elite eyes on the QB.

The Titans defense under DC Dennard Wilson has assigned Barton extensive Tampa-2 hook responsibility, which puts him in the underneath passing window where deflections are available.

Career totals through 7 seasons: 519 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 28 PDs — every-down LB resume on year-to-year deals.

At 102 career games (regular season + playoffs) Barton has accumulated 519 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 28 PDs, 3 FFs, 3 FRs.

The per-game averages since he became a starter (2022 onward, 66 games): 6.4 tackles/game, 5.1 PDs per season, 1 sack per season. That's a profile that fits the modern 3-down nickel LB mold — coverage capable, run-fit reliable, occasional blitz contributor.

The contract markets keep saying 1-year. The production keeps saying 3-down starter. That's the Cody Barton dichotomy.

4 different teams in 4 seasons (2022-2025) — a journeyman starter at 28 years old.

From 2022 to 2025, Barton has played for SEA, WAS, DEN, and TEN — a different team every year. Among modern off-ball LBs with 100+ tackles in each of the last 4 seasons, this is the most volatile team-tenure profile.

Replicating 100+ tackles across 4 different defensive schemes (Seattle's Cover-3, Washington's match concepts, Denver's Joe Vitt 3-4, Tennessee's Dennard Wilson hybrid) is a portability marker. Whatever the call sheet looks like, Barton makes the plays.