Tampa Bay Buccaneers May Be in the Running for Tiki Barber, but Should They Be?

He’ll land somewhere, and he’ll likely contribute. He won’t be a 200-carry guy and he won’t be a 2,000-yard rusher, but surely he’ll chip in. Maybe on third down. Perhaps for insurance or to spell the No. 1 guy to promote fourth-quarter freshness.

Yes, when the lockout is lifted and players are thrust into free agency, Tiki Barber will most certainly find a home.

And according to ESPN’s John Clayton, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are still on the short list of potential destinations for the former Giants running back.

I suppose it makes sense.

You know his brother Ronde is pushing for it. It’s a two-back league these days, and if the Buccaneers don’t bring Cadillac Williams back, surely they’d trust a veteran rather than a handful of unproven youngsters in a year of limited offseason preparation to top the depth chart behind LeGarrette Blount.

But Mark Dominik and Raheem Morris have a plan, and so far, they’ve executed it to near perfection.

Get younger and build through the draft.

Sure, there are exceptions to just about every rule, but in this case, it’s unlikely that Tiki Barber is one of them.

Blount proved he can shoulder the load after carrying the ball 201 times for 1,007 yards with six touchdowns despite receiving double-digit carries in just 11 games in 2010. His 5.0 yards per carry is just what the Buccaneers need from their top back.

Cadillac’s injury woes appear to be behind him and he’s still on the right side of 30 years old. He conceded the starting role to Blount in 2010 and served as not only a serviceable No. 2 (125 carries for 437 yards with a pair of touchdowns), but he was also a threat to catch the ball out of the backfield (48 catches for 355 yards and a touchdown), particularly on third down.

Tiki, meanwhile, is 36 and hasn’t played since 2006. And while there’s no doubting his past effectiveness (three-time Pro Bowler with seven seasons of 1,000-plus rushing yards and three 2,000-yard campaigns), a four-year hiatus hoists a red flag, particularly for a running back.

As you chronicle the reasons for the Buccaneers not to pursue fellow former Giant Plaxico Burress, apply them to Barber as well.

There’s age. There’s the long layoff. There’s locker room continuity.

And while Ronde will certainly help with the latter, if Tiki’s entrance comes by virtue of Cadillac’s exit, the Bucs lose far more than they gain. They lose leadership that Tiki simply cannot provide, particularly in his first season with the team.

Dominik and Morris have a plan.

“When we first got the opportunity, the mindset was we wanted to get younger,” Dominik told Buccaneers.com after the 2010 season, “...we’ve stayed to the plan since Day 1 and we’ll continue to stick to it.”

And stick to it they should.

The brothers Barber reuniting with the Buccaneers in 2011 and helping a young team improve on a surprise 10-6 season to make a potential Super Bowl run in arguably the toughest division in football sure would be a great story.

But it’s not Dominik and Morris’ job to help write it.