Getty Kenjon Barner appeared in five games with the Patriots and was cut three times.
Running back Kenjon Barner appeared in five games last year for the New England Patriots. But playing just over a quarter of the season was still enough of a contribution for the team to recognize.
Barner, 29, revealed on Instagram that he received a Super Bowl LIII championship ring from Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Getting one of those rings for a role player whose tenure with the team ended in November wasn’t an insignificant expense for Kraft either.
As The Athletic’s Jeff Howe reported, the NFL pays for 150 rings but Kraft wanted more — many more. He ordered 231 rings and paid the additional amount himself. (Each of the Patriots’ extravagant rings, with 422 diamonds and 20 sapphires, cost approximately $30,000.)
Barner’s stint with the 2018 Patriots is intriguing for more reasons than the five games in which he played. He was cut three times by the team during the season.
As CBS Sports’ John Breech details, Barner first signed with New England in September but was cut 10 days later without appearing in a game. However, he was re-signed a week later and saw some game action, totaling three carries for 11 yards in a Week 4 win over the Dolphins. And just four days later, Barner was cut again.
Yet in another four days, Barner was re-signed one more time. His final tour with the Patriots lasted the longest, going for four weeks with Barner appearing in each game during that span. His final season numbers with New England were 19 carries for 71 yards. Barner ended the 2018 campaign with the Carolina Panthers.
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As demonstrated by being rewarded with a Super Bowl ring, however, the Patriots didn’t view any contribution last season as meaningless. The team apparently also doesn’t hold grudges against players who were once opponents.
This is actually Barner’s second Super Bowl ring. The previous one he earned was with the 2017 Philadelphia Eagles, the team which defeated the Patriots, 40-33, in Super Bowl LII. Barner had three kickoff returns in that game for 73 yards.
Barner received his new championship jewelry just in time for Father’s Day and was able to share the joy with his dad, as he showed in another pair of Instagram posts.
This season, Barner plays for the Atlanta Falcons. What are the chances that he can win a Super Bowl title in three consecutive years with three different teams? One thing we do know: if the Falcons were to beat the Patriots in Super Bowl LIV, his former team won’t hold any hard feelings against him.
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