Former Wildcat signs with the AAF

Former Enterprise standout TJ Barnes inked a contract with the Alliance of American Football’s Atlanta Legends last week after attending a pro combine there in August.

Barnes – an all-state defensive and offensive tackle at Enterprise – previously played five years in the NFL with the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars.

“I feel like it’s a blessing to get a second opportunity to play professional football,” Barnes said. “I didn’t like how things ended with the NFL and the AAF has given me an opportunity to sign there and continue my football career.”

Though Barnes is an Alabama native, he attended college at Georgia Tech – where he was an All-ACC defensive tackle – and in the AAF players are assigned to teams based on the college they attended first before anything else.

So, Barnes will play for Atlanta when the season starts in February of 2019.

“I saw Michael Vick at the combine and we talked a little bit,” Barnes said of meeting Atlanta’s offensive coordinator and former NFL star. “After he saw my 40-yard dash, he told me that Atlanta needed me on the team. It was really fun.”

Barnes, who currently lives in Atlanta, said that he’s happy that the majority of his family will get a chance to come see him live, unlike when he was playing for teams in the NFL like Kansas City and New York.

“It will be really fun to have my family and friends be able to come to the games and not have to travel across the country like when I was in the NFL,” Barnes said. “It’s great, especially for my wife and daughter and not having to put too much travel on them. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Barnes emphasized that he was ready to go now and that it was hard for him to not get excited thinking about returning to the field.

“I’m really excited,” he said. “It’s kind of overwhelming right now. I just wanted to get another opportunity and now it’s presented itself and I’m so thankful for it.

“Sometimes I have to try and keep my excitement contained a little because there’s still more than 100 days left until the season starts.”

Barnes said that it’s not only a big deal for football players to have another option to continue their playing careers but also to have a place to continue to develop and eventually return to the NFL.

“It’s really tremendous, especially for the young guys that get cut during or after their rookie year,” Barnes said. “It gives you a chance to get more film of yourself and also a chance to continue to learn and get more experience, and not have to go across the border to play in Canada to do it.

“Once guys get cut from the NFL, a lot of times they go out and get a regular job but this will give a lot of guys an opportunity to be able to still chase their dreams.”

Barnes said that he understands where he went wrong in the NFL and he’s grown from past mistakes.

“I understand the mistakes I made in the NFL,” Barnes emphasized. “At first, I was blaming everything on the politics in the league but after some self reflection I understand the mistakes I made and now that I have a second chance I’m coming to make the most of it.”

While a return to the NFL is Barnes’ ultimate goal, he has some more immediate goals in mind for the AAF.

“I’m coming to be the MVP of the league,” Barnes flatly said. “I know that no one can stop me and my goal is to win a lot of games to and to be the MVP of the league.”

In other AAF news, the league revealed the logos, nicknames and colors of all eight teams, as well.

Alabama’s team will be known as the Birmingham Iron, which is a nod to the city’s long steel and iron production history.

“We picked that name because it pays tribute to the hard-working, blue-collar steelworkers who provided iron that fueled the Industrial Revolution,” Birmingham head coach Tim Lewis said. “This great city of Birmingham is tough, hard-working, passionate, dependable – all attributes that our team will uphold both on and off the field. When they see how we play the game, I’m confident they will love our team. They will love the Iron.”

The name is also a tip of the hat to the Iron Bowl. The annual Alabama-Auburn rivalry was played at Legion Field in Birmingham – the home of the Iron for at least the next two years – from 1948 until 1988.

The Iron’s colors will be a stark contrast from that of past professional teams in Alabama as Birmingham will wear silver and black with a simple logo consisting of a metallic football with a “B” in the center.

The other team names include the Memphis Express, Orlando Apollos, Atlanta Legends, San Diego Fleet, Salt Lake Stallions, Arizona Hotshots and San Antonio Commanders.