46
Zaire Barnes
Linebacker · 4th season
Updated
- Height
- 6-1
- Weight
- 232
- Age
- 27
- College
- Western Michigan
- Drafted
- 2023 · R6 P184
- Exp
- 4
Overview
Zaire Barnes is a backup linebacker and special teams player in his fourth NFL season. The Jets drafted him in the sixth round, No. 184 overall, out of Western Michigan in 2023, and he played four games for them.
The Jets waived him Aug. 27, 2025, and the Giants signed him to their practice squad two days later. He played 11 games with one start in 2025 and had 29 tackles, a sack and 13 special teams tackles. He made the Giants' initial 53-man roster in 2026 after intercepting a pass in the preseason finale against the Jets.
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Frequently asked
- How did Zaire Barnes end up with the Giants?
- The Jets waived Barnes on Aug. 27, 2025, a day after he made their initial 53-man roster, and the Giants signed him to their practice squad Aug. 29, as reported by Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post. The Jets had drafted him in the sixth round in 2023 out of Western Michigan.
- What did Zaire Barnes do against the Patriots?
- In his only start of 2025, against New England on Monday Night Football in Week 13, Barnes had a game-high 13 tackles and the first sack of his NFL career.
- Did the Giants re-sign Zaire Barnes?
- Yes. The Giants re-signed Barnes, a restricted free agent, on March 14, 2026.
- What injury did Zaire Barnes have with the Jets?
- Barnes missed the entire 2024 season with an ankle injury after playing four games for the Jets as a rookie in 2023.
Also at linebacker:Abdul Carter, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Micah McFadden, Jack Kelly, Arvell Reese