By: Lindsey Young

It's only fitting that as he stepped up to the Vikings media center podium for the final time, Barr quietly took in a room full of not only reporters but also members of the Social Impact team, coaches, personnel staff and, most importantly, former teammates.

An emotional Barr was grateful to see Andrew Sendejo, Audie Cole and Eric Kendricks and there to celebrate their brother's impact on the organization and community. Vikings Legend Scott Studwell also attended the press conference, and Chad Greenway made an earlier appearance to express his congratulations.

Kendricks provided opening remarks, during which he shared quite the ice breaker of an anecdote from a Vikings game in London (more on that later), and introduced Barr, whom he truly considers a "brother from another mother."

"It's really good to be back here," Barr said. "It's important to me to retire as a Viking because the community means so much, the franchise means so much. It's a franchise that changed my life, coming here in May 2014 as, really, a young boy trying to find his way playing a game he's loved his whole life — and got a chance to showcase his talents here."

He later recalled (with a few chuckles) his first visit to Minnesota leading up to the draft.

"I was coming from California, I was in my T-shirt and my shorts, and I got off the plane and it's snowing. I'm like, 'Oh, [dang],' " he laughed. "This place is different. Hopefully we don't come here, because I'm not trying to deal with the snow in April. Six weeks later, they called.

"But it ended up working out," Barr added with a smile. "Now I actually love the snow more than I do the heat, so that's kind of changed, being a Cali boy. Now I'm, like, full Minnesota."

Though he had no say, of course, in which team called his name in the 2014 NFL Draft, it didn't take long for the Vikings and Minnesota to feel like a second home.

Barr arrived in the Twin Cities with an "all business" mindset as a young linebacker who'd only played the position for two years, having been moved from offense to defense during his time at UCLA.

He found himself in a position group with the likes of Greenway, Cole and Michael Mauti, a trio of 'backers who took the youngster under their wing … mostly.

"Pretty quickly, I felt comfortable in the locker room with the team. And first and foremost, I think that's very important to be at your best," he said. "I think you have to feel at home, feel supported. And I felt that way."

Barr went on to thrive in Minnesota. Over 102 games (98 starts), he totaled 496 tackles, 39 tackles for loss, 17.5 sacks, five interceptions, 31 passes defensed, eight forced fumbles and eight fumble recoveries, including one he returned at Tampa for a game-winning touchdown.

He was a special athlete. But more than that, he was a special teammate, a special friend. A special person.

"A.B. is always gonna be A.B. And that's what you love about him," Eric Wilson said.

Barr's on-field success can be credited to multiple things, perhaps beginning between the ears.

Harrison Smith, whose Vikings tenure overlapped Barr's entire career in Purple, called him the smartest teammate Smith's encountered over 14 seasons.

High praise coming from The Hitman himself.

Smith quipped he didn't immediately recognize Barr's smarts because "he didn't talk for, like, six months."

"He didn't talk to anybody for a while, but he was just getting the lay of the land," Smith said.

Exactly that.

"I'm a very naturally observant person," Barr said. "I see everything, and I take note on a lot of things I might not vocalize."

Barr regularly watched football from the age of 2, growing to understand the game inside and out. That awareness, he believes, has played a large role in who he is as an athlete and simply in life.

Barr also credits Jeff Ulbrich and Jim L. Mora, at the time UCLA's defensive coordinator and head coach, for teaching him how to truly evaluate game film during his transition from running back to linebacker. He leaned into the process, learning how to dissect offenses, identify schemes and formations and anticipate plans of attack.

Thinking back, Barr identified those years as the time his football I.Q. "shot through the roof."

He then was drafted by the Vikings and defensive-minded Mike Zimmer.

"Zim's very, very smart and can talk football at a high level," Barr said. "Being under his wing, and being coached by his son Adam, who definitely learned from Mike at a young age and grew up in a football house — their knowledge, being able to observe and absorb all of what we discussed and what they asked for.

"I didn't have a whole lot of bad habits coming out of college, because I was so new to the position," he added, "so I could just take coaching and do exactly what they were looking for. It ended up being helpful for me and for the team."

Barr started all 12 games he played his rookie season, and he was entrusted going into his second year with "green dot" duties that previously were held by Greenway. He excelled in the role, efficiently and smoothly conveying calls to the defense. Even in moments of miscommunication or misunderstanding through the headset, Barr's shared wavelength with Zimmer — and composure in high-stress moments — allowed him to seamlessly relay the correct information.

"He knew what Zim' was calling even before he called it," Smith said.

No matter the situation, Barr didn't seem fazed.

"I never felt overwhelmed," he said. "You know, it's football. You just have to adapt and adjust on the fly … and that was something I enjoyed a lot and took a lot of pride in."

That coolness translated beyond the field, as well. Kendricks, who teamed with Barr at UCLA before the two reunited in Minnesota, fondly recalled the way Barr would nonchalantly stroll through the halls during a game week or after an intense training camp practice.

Even before you saw Barr, you'd know he was coming.

"This guy whistles everywhere he goes. He's just a whistler. He's a whistling guy," Kendricks laughed. "Everybody knows him for the whistles everywhere he goes. The more you're around him when he's whistling, the more you start to try to whistle like him, but you can't really do it."

Calm in every situation. Strong communicator. Situationally aware.

"I just don't think people understand how smart of a football player he is," said Kendricks, who later assumed green dot duties himself. "That rubbed off on me every year I was with him. I truly became a better football player mentally because of him."

Beyond Barr's brain is his brawn, of course.

"He was just such a beast," Greenway described. "The size, the height, the speed. I mean, he just had everything. He was so impressive."It was motivating to me to see this young kid, so excited to be here, such a freak athlete, making crazy plays," Greenway added. "It leveled up my ability to keep playing as a 31, 32-year-old. He was big enough to be so physical inside the box, taking on running backs and linemen, but then also fast enough to cover guys. I mean, he was literally just a freak."

A linebacker packaged in a defensive end's body, with the hands of a receiver and speed of a running back?

Offenses, beware.

Aaron Jones, Sr., knows all-too well the difficulty of playing against Barr, as the two faced off within the NFC North on multiple occasions.

Jones, who played for the Packers from 2017-23 before joining the Vikings last offseason, noted he "hated" playing against Barr because he knew just how much he'd be challenged.

"His size, his speed, playing where he did, you don't see that often; I feel like most of the time those guys have their hand in the dirt," Jones said. "So, his ability to be able to do that, cover the backside of the backfield, drop into zone, it's tremendous.

"When he's coming, all right, you're getting another pass rusher running at you — and that's not the easiest thing," Jones quipped. "There's a difference between linebackers and DBs rushing you versus outside linebackers and d-linemen. They use their hands, they have different techniques, and Barr had that in his game.

"He made it hard to step up in the A or B gap and block," he added. "Especially if the gaps are wide open and it's mano y mano? Buckle up. He's either gonna give you a move or he's gonna drive you right back to the quarterback."

During multiple interviews for this story, Barr was referred to as a "physical mismatch," capable of wreaking havoc Jones spoke of.

Smith noted his ability to "run right through" running backs as an off-the-ball linebacker built more like an OLB.

"He's very unique in the way he was physically built and mentally capable, and he was a smooth athlete, too," Smith said. "A lot of guys are really powerful and strong and fast, but he was — you could tell he played a lot of sports, just nimble on his feet. A.B. could move in ways you wouldn't think he should be able to move."

You don't have to remind Vikings Offensive Coordinator Wes Phillips, whose years spent as an assistant coach in the NFC (Dallas, Washington, L.A. Rams) pitted him against Barr on several occasions.

Similar to Jones' sentiments, Phillips offered disdain for game-planning against No. 55.

He explained Barr prompting offenses to treat him "like a fifth big" in Minnesota's 4-3 defense.

"He's athletic, long, rangy. Could run sideline to sideline. Could cover," Phillips said. "If coordinators are good with scheme, they can dictate, 'Hey, we've got to block him with an o-lineman.' Now they can bring people from the other side. So you can use a guy like Anthony Barr in a lot of ways, not just for his talent but also to give other guys opportunities."

Barr's effect on a defense, enabling opportunities for those around him, is an apt illustration of his selfless, team-first approach to his NFL career.

Kendricks recalled Week 9 of the 2021 season, Barr's eighth in Purple. Before the game, Kendricks happened across his friend and fellow linebacker having his knee aspirated in hopes he could join in his teammates in the Ravens road game.

Barr also recalls that day, the anxiety that he wouldn't be able to go.

But he did.

Barr and the Vikings battled in what Kendricks tabbed one of the most physical games he's ever been a part of.

"The Ravens ran the ball, like, 40 times," Barr said, pretty spot-on the exact total of 45 rushes, including 21 by Lamar Jackson.

Despite leading by 14 at one point, Minnesota fell in a heartbreaking overtime loss — but not without the utmost effort by Barr, who intercepted Jackson to end the extra period's first drive.

"I saw behind-the-scenes of everything Anthony was going through physically, and then for him to come out and put it all on the line was incredible," Kendricks said. "He's the one who gave us a chance to win. He played unreal."

In a vulnerable moment, Barr recalled the way he cried at his locker following the game.

He simply had nothing left.

"I truly left everything out on that field," he said. "I didn't even necessarily have my best game, but I was out there, honestly, on one leg almost. That's kind of how that whole season was for me; it was a battle to play every weekend. But I felt like I owed it to myself, to my team.

"It's football. It's what I signed up for," Barr continued. "It's like in the morning, if you don't feel like going to do a workout, that's when you need to do it. Those moments are what start building resilience and character — and that's the mindset I had. 'This is my job, and if I'm able to walk, I'm gonna try to play.' That was important to me."

When Barr thinks about his career as a Viking and the games that made the biggest impact, it isn't always the big wins. It is sometimes those contests that built hardiness and brought the team together.

The Wild Card playoff game following the 2015 season, for instance, when the Vikings wrestled the Seahawks in sub-zero temps. He calls it "brutal, but a blast" — no pun intended regarding the icy gusts.

But he'll always treasure some of the wins, as well, his top two being the road playoff win against the Saints, capped with a Kyle Rudolph touchdown, and the 2015 regular-season finale in Green Bay to determine NFC North title.

The Vikings led 20-13 as the play clock waned, but Minnesota's defense knew Aaron Rodgers and Co. couldn't be counted out. With one second on the clock, the daggering QB took one final heave toward the end zone … and Barr swatted it away.

The smile remains in his voice 10 years later.

"Winning that in enemy territory, against the Packers and Rodgers. He was at his prime, his peak, the 'Hail Mary god.' Able to pull rabbits out of his hat," Barr said. "Winning that one? That was really cool."

Even in Barr's pregame rituals, he gave it all. Quite literally.

Some players listen to a specific song. Some pray. Some (ahem, Harrison Smith) throw back a shot of hot sauce. And Barr? Well, Barr vomited.

Before every single game. Like clockwork.

He didn't have to make himself, he assured, but it just always happened. Usually into a towel on the bench.

"I kind of liked to experience it," Smith laughed. "I would go sit next to him. It was just his thing, so I'd get near him. He was getting amped up for the game."

Added Kendricks: "Guys are quirky, they have rituals. We would all be waiting for that puke to make ourselves feel better about our routine, because it was part of our routine now."

And then there was the time in London when Kendricks came running out before the game and grabbed a towel off the ground to wipe his face — not realizing it was the towel.

"I just remember tasting and smelling orange peel. And, like, little pieces of orange pulp were on my face as I ran out to play defense," Kendricks recalled with a laugh, clearly no worse for wear.

"Yeahhh, I felt bad about that," Barr says now. "But I mean, he probably should have known better."

Barr's physical, mental and emotional commitment to the Vikings and to the game he loves were undeniable.

And yet, arguably the most significant legacy Barr established — and continues to foster — hasn't happened anywhere near the football field.

During Barr's second season in Minnesota, he and his mom Lori launched Raise the Barr, a nonprofit aimed at helping single-parent families break the cycle of poverty by providing access to post-secondary education, tuition and childcare scholarships.

Raise the Barr has supported single parents and their children in Southern California (Lori and Anthony's home region) and the Twin Cities over the past nine-plus years. Barr also grew deeply connected as a Viking to Jeremiah Program, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit with a mission that beautifully aligns with Raise the Barr.

Barr connected with countless single mothers and their young ones during fundraiser events, holiday gatherings and humble visits to the center to play with and read books to youth.

Libby Sanders' family has been tremendously impacted by Jeremiah Program and Barr's involvement. Libby is a single mother of two (Landon and Dominic) who graduated from Jeremiah Program in 2015 with a degree in human services. After working in elementary schools and juvenile correction reform, Libby returned to school and earned a second degree while participating in JP's Alumni Fellowship. She now works as a social worker in OB/GYN and supports many pregnant women whose experiences mirror her own.

Reflecting on her experience with Jeremiah Program, where she currently also facilitates Empowerment and Leadership classes, Libby shared how much Barr's commitment has meant to her and her family.

"Having an NFL player like Anthony invest in single moms the way he does honors the women who stepped into motherhood in a society that often negatively regards single mothers," Libby said. "Anthony's work aligns with Jeremiah's core beliefs that we are all lovable, valuable and important.

"It makes our dreams feel even more possible," she added. "Not only for us as moms, but in my situation, also for my sons."

Libby recalled the first time she met Barr in 2017, noting, "What stood out to me was how everyone was there to see him, but he was there to see us."

Landon, now 15, will likewise never forget that first interaction.

"I remember he was very kind and selfless. His presence felt really warm, kind of like a teacher, but he was very big. His looks didn't match his personality," Landon described. "It was really fun because he was there to do fancy stuff with the adults, but he ended up playing football in the hallway with me."

In words wise beyond his years, Landon emphasized how grateful he is that Barr has kept in touch with Jeremiah Program families from afar.

"It's really thoughtful, being able to stay connected to someone or somewhere you love even if you don't live there anymore … like a long-distance relationship," Landon reflected. "It feels like he can relate to me, knowing we've had a similar experience growing up.

"Now I just hope I can continue to have the same experience he's had, do what I love and connect with people I care about," added Landon, who started playing linebacker because of Barr and now starts at the position. "I want to be a role model to them like Anthony has been a role model to me."

For Barr, the Vikings Community Man of the Year in 2021, that's what it's all about.

He hasn't forgotten where he's come from or the community that helped him grow up in a loving, stable home while Lori completed her education and established a foundation for her family.

He understands consistency is key. For Barr, it's all about establishing connection and trust.

"I think that's where the success comes into play," he said. "You can give anybody $5, but if they don't know what to do with the $5, then it's not very impactful. So we try to build that community and build a network for our families so that they don't feel like they're going through this unknown aspect of life alone."

Those touched by Barr's work through Raise the Barr or Jeremiah Program are forever affected by his genuine heart for making a difference.

"My boys have grown up watching people they consider their friends play in the NFL; they get to wear their jerseys and have these beautiful core memories. That builds confidence. The day they played catch in the hall, Landon actually gave Anthony his signature," Libby said. "My boys don't see him as an idol; they see him as a role model, and that is something that will stick with them for the rest of their lives."

As Barr reflects over his NFL career, it's only fitting he returns to a place that became a home to officially hang up his cleats.

He admitted it took some time to settle into the idea of retirement, of being comfortable walking away from the field. But what initially caused pangs of sadness now has turned to deep gratitude.

"I'm really proud of my career and so thankful for the moments and opportunities I was granted by the Wilf family — some of the best owners in sports — and by the coaches and [former Vikings GM] Rick Spielman just giving me the opportunity to play," Barr said. "And then all my teammates for supporting me. I don't think they realized how impactful they were on my life. Observing some of the amazing pros that I was able to watch at a young age, whether it's Linval [Joseph] or B-Rob (Brian Robison) or Everson [Griffen], 'Zay' (Rhodes), Dejo, Harry, E.K. … being good people, good humans, but just being amazing teammates and being guys that I loved going to work with. Guys I would put my life on the line for.

"This is the team that gave me an opportunity. They let me come in and be my authentic self, while also expecting and demanding a lot from me," he said. "It was a two-way street, and I think, for the most part, I held up my end of the bargain; and they did as a franchise, as well."

As Barr continues making positive differences, and transitions to whatever adventures life next holds for him, one thing is certain:

He's a Minnesota Viking for life.

"He just is. He's a Viking," Smith said, shrugging. "It's the only place for him."

Kendricks added: "He deserves his flowers. He put a lot of work in with the organization, he was a leader of so many great defenses, and it's a great story. It's only right. It's how it's supposed to be."