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Eric Barton is a former NFL linebacker.

Eric was born on September 29, 1977 in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Eric played high school football at Edison High School in Alexandria, Virginia where he earned All-American honors from the National Recruiting Advisor, All-Atlantic Coast recognition from Blue Chip Illustrated Magazine, and was rated the tenth best football player in Virginia by Super Prep Magazine.

Eric went on to play college football at the University of Maryland where he was fourth on the career tackles list, recording more than 100 tackles as a sophomore, junior and senior. Eric was an All-ACC first-team selection as a senior and led conference in total tackles and average tackles per game.

Eric was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the fifth round of the 1999 NFL Draft.
He saw action in all 16 games in the 1999 NFL season, making three starts and finishing with 29 tackles and two sacks. Eric started and tallied 13 tackles at line backer in Super Bowl XXXVII against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Eric signed with the New York Jets as an unrestricted free agent in 2004. He registered nine or more tackles seven times in the 2004 NFL season and earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week in Week 15 when the Jets beat the Seattle Seahawks.

Eric has played in 120 career regular season games with 85 starts and has recorded 680 tackles, 18.5 sacks, four interceptions, 18 pass deflection, six forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries in his career.

On March 13, 2009 Eric signed with the Cleveland Browns as an unrestricted free agent. Up to the 2010 NFL season, after 12 years of play, he is the only player still active in the NFL among those drafted in the fifth round of the 1999 NFL Draft. On February 9, 2011, Eric was released by the Browns.