Who is Michael Barrett? Why Seahawks traded for 7th-round pick before he played a regular-season game

Michael Barrett hasn't played in a regular season game in the NFL, yet he already is changing team colors.

Barrett, a seventh-round pick by the Panthers in the 2024 NFL Draft, was traded to the Seahawks on Thursday in a surprising preseason deal. It reunites the linebacker with Mike Macdonald, who worked with Barrett at Michigan in 2021 when the current Seattle head coach was the defensive coordinator for the Wolverines.

"Guys in Carolina spoke highly of him," Macdonald said. "Mike was very productive at Michigan obviously. We had a chance to evaluate him coming out [of college]. He was playing two years after we left to go back to Baltimore. Just excited to have him in here, and he’s got a great opportunity to come compete and earn himself a spot here for hopefully a while."

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Here is more to know about Barrett and the deal that sent him to Seattle.

Michael Barrett trade

• Seahawks receive: LB Michael Barrett
• Panthers receive: CB Michael Jackson

Who is Michael Barrett?

Barrett is a linebacker who was a seventh-round pick out of Michigan this summer.

The 24-year-old Georgia native spent six years playing in the NCAA, all at Michigan. He was a team captain for the program's national championship-winning squad last season, where the Wolverines defeated Washington in the title game.

A two-time, third-team All-Big Ten selection, Barrett is the winningest player in Michigan football history. During his six years with the team, the Wolverines went 61-14 with him on the squad. He was a starter on the defense for two of those seasons.

In two preseason games with the Panthers, Barrett played a total of 27 defensive snaps, as well as 18 snaps on special teams. He registered three tackles on defense and one on special teams.

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Michael Barrett college stats

As a starter for Michigan, Barrett totaled 137 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, two interceptions and three forced fumbles during those two seasons.

In total, he put together 208 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, 8.5 sacks and four forced fumbles in his time in the NCAA.