Syracuse LB/DB Justin Barron signs with Cowboys as undrafted free agent
Justin Barron notched 294 tackles with the Orange after converting from wide receiver to linebacker/defensive back, leading to his signing with the Cowboys. Jacob Halsema | Staff Photographer
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Former Syracuse linebacker and defensive back Justin Barron has signed a contract with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent, SU reported Saturday. Barron racked up 294 tackles across five seasons with the Orange from 2020-24. He is one of eight former SU players to be drafted or signed by an NFL team this offseason.
Barron went through a winding journey at SU. His career began at wide receiver, then progressed into a home at rover safety and ended as a star on the second level at linebacker. Head coach Fran Brown constantly talked the talented athlete up as a future NFL player. Barron will get his chance at fulfilling that proclamation this summer and early fall.
Barron played in 62 games over the course of his five seasons at Syracuse, which mostly came under Dino Babers. He broke out from 2022-23, talling five tackles for loss each campaign and raising his overall tackle numbers from 65 to 90 — which was second behind Marlowe Wax in 2023.
Once Babers was fired in November 2023, however, Barron’s future at SU became uncertain. He could’ve transferred, which he admitted was a possibility, but head coach Fran Brown pitched Barron to stay in central New York and help Syracuse transition to its next era. Barron obliged, joining Oronde Gadsden II and Wax as key returners from the Babers days to Brown’s new regime.
“The vision he had for the team and that we didn’t have to wait for that to happen, he wanted to win and win now,” Barron said of Brown before the 2024 season. “Marlowe’s one of my best friends, Oronde and I are really close too, but we have two of the biggest playmakers on the team come back and it turns into a no-brainer for me.”
The end outcome? Barron’s team-best and career-high 93 tackles helped spearhead SU’s revamped defense en route to Syracuse’s 10-3 2024 campaign.
Barron’s shining moment in his swan song with the Orange occurred on Oct. 12, 2024, in Raleigh, North Carolina. The safety-turned-linebacker registered eight total tackles, five solo tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack and an interception — all team-highs — against NC State to spur Syracuse’s 24-17 win and hold the Wolfpack offense to pedestrian numbers.
The incredible outing happened a few weeks into his change from linebacker to safety, as the Orange were continuing to adjust to Wax’s lower-body injury that he suffered in Week 1. Barron provided an answer at linebacker, though, stepping in and filling a void in an untraditional way — a quality that he may need to hone in on again to carve out an NFL roster spot.
“(Defensive coordinator Elijah Robinson) and I go over every situation,” Barron said following SU’s victory over NC State. “Being an older guy, I don’t really have class as much as the other guys. I’ve just had a lot of free time to be in (the practice facility), just talking about situations, what he sees and what I see. It’s just the repetition that helps me see the game.”
