Tiki Barber Comes out of Retirement: Why Signing Him Is a Mistake

Tiki Barber came out of nowhere today and filed papers with the NFL to end his four year retirement and return to the grid-iron. 

The 35-year-old running back, who is a twin brother to Tampa Bay’s Ronde, is still technically property of the New York Giants who have announced they will release him. 

Tiki is now a free agent and free to sign with any team. 

Will there be a market for a 35-year-old running back who has been out of football for four years? 

Any general manager worth his salt will just say no to Barber. 

The steady and rapid decline of running backs once they hit 30 years old is well documented and Tiki is five years beyond that. 

Does anyone remember Barry Foster and Shaun Alexander? 

People will certainly argue that being out of football for four years saved valuable wear and tear on his body.  Perhaps, but he was 31 when he retired with over 2100 career carries, and cited the physical demand on his body as a reason for retirement. 

If anything, that physical demand has increased in four years. 

The counter argument of course is that taking four years off of working-out and the grind of playing professional football, as Tiki has done, will render him softer than he remembers being. 

Asking celebrities questions on the red-carpet does not compare to getting blasted by Ray Lewis. 

If you think Barber had a fumble problem before, what will he have now? 

Why waste a roster spot on a guy who, history says, won’t be productive.  Wouldn’t that spot be better suited to a young guy trying to earn his place in the league? 

Then there is the Tiki the trouble maker. 

On several occassions, he ripped Giants head coach Tom Coughlin after losses.  Most notably, he lashed out against Coughlin after losing to the Carolina Panthers in the 2005 playoffs, telling reporters the Giants were out-coached. 

He referred to teammate Michael Strahan as "selfish" in 2002 when the star defensive end was in a contract dispute with the Giants. 

After retiring in 2006, Barber ripped Giants quarterback Eli Manning by questioning his leadership skills and saying his pre-game speeches were "comical". 

Manning fired back and then led the Giants to a Super Bowl victory. 

A Super Bowl victory that eluded Barber during his career.  So not only is Barber kind of a jerk, but he’s wrong. 

Manning did show leadership and has a ring now. 

Barber was one of the most talented running backs during his playing days, but at this point in time, he should stick to hosting red carpets and doing morning TV shows. 

The NFL trend has become to have more than one running back on your team so a team may take a run at him. 

He seems like the kind of player Bill Belichick would bring in, or maybe Barber will go and play with his brother in Tampa who could use a veteran running back to team with LeGarrette Blount. 

Someone will take a shot with him, but it will be a mistake.  

General managers should look at the mess Brett Favre made of hanging on the dream too long and just pass on Barber.