Bryce Baringer got lit up by his own teammate during Sunday’s NFL game in Massachusetts. Fortunately, absolutely nobody showed up to sit in the stands on a rainy day in Foxborough so they weren’t able to have a laugh at his expense in real-time.
Unfortunately, the entire sequence was caught on film and broadcast live on CBS.
Baringer, a first-year punter out of Michigan State, was drafted during the six round of the 2023 NFL Draft by Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. At 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, he is not a small guy!
His size did not stop him from making a business decision.
Chargers wide receiver Derius Davis fielded the punt and took it up the sideline. Baringer took a great angle of pursuit and was in a fantastic position to make the tackle. At the very least, the rookie could have simply, knocked the kicker returner out of bounds.
He did neither.
Baringer pulled up right in front of Davis, skirted out of the way, and stuck out his left arm. Meanwhile, linebacker Chris Board was running hard downfield behind the ball. They collided head-on.
Board wrecked Baringer!
Ironically, Davis’ return ultimately led to the only points of the game. Los Angeles won 6-0.
Even though Baringer has not been in the league long, he has already blossomed into one of the better legs in the NFL. There is a reason he was drafted!
With that being said, his tackling could clearly use some work.
Baringer made two tackles during his college career. One in 2020. One in 2021. Both were solo.
It has been more than two years since his last successful takedown. He did not add to his defensive statistics on Sunday. If anything, he should have one of his career tackles retroactively removed!