My dad text me saying, “Tiki is coming back.” I replied to him, “No way, why?” I then searched the internet and watched ESPN to see if this rumor was true. A couple hours later it was all over the internet and he was even a trending topic on Twitter.
The Giants acknowledged on Tuesday that Barber has asked to be taken off the reserve-retirement list and that they will release him once the league allows it. Teams cannot make roster moves during the current extension of the CBA talks. The 35-year-old back, who turns 36 in April, retired in 2006 with two years remaining on the four year, $23 million contract he signed before the 2005 season. He played 10 seasons, all for the Giants, finishing his career as the franchise’s all-time leading rusher.
After retiring from the NFL, Tiki was hired as a correspondent on Football Night in America. He has made various headlines for being critical of current New York Giants football coach Tom Coughlin. Tiki also had the balls to throw his former quarterback under the bus, by stating that Eli Manning had no leadership skills.
The question is: Why would 35-year-old Tiki Barber, who has been out of the league for 4 years, admire a comeback? A couple of sources have stated that Tiki’s life off the field has turned for the downward spiral. In April 2010, Tiki reportedly left his wife of 11 years for a 23-year-old former intern from NBC. His wife Ginny was reportedly pregnant at the time of the divorce. NBC also terminated Tiki Barber’s contract for Football Night in America. In June 2010, the New York Post reported Barber was broke and couldn’t pay his divorce settlement with his ex-wife.
Long time teammate and current ESPN Football analyst Antonio Pierce stated his very heartfelt opinion on the matter: “Tiki Barber the football player…great player, will be very productive in certain situations,” Pierce said. “Third down, maybe to help out a young quarterback and some young running backs, depend on who it is.”
“Tiki Barber the person? The leader? The person in that locker room? He’s not going to do anything for your team. Now if that’s the guy you think you’re bringing in, you might want to look in another direction, because from personal experience, he didn’t do anything to help the Giants the last year, especially 2006 when he decided to retire in the middle of season, and then months later kind of questioned our quarterback and our head coach at the time, Coach Coughlin. That’s my problem with Tiki Barber, but the guy can play. Can he do it four years later? I don’t think he can.”
So while Tiki Barber will definitely try a NFL comeback, who actually thinks he will succeed? What team will give this once great running back a chance now, that he is 35 years old? These are questions many people are wondering and soon will answered if the NFL settles its Collective Bargaining Agreement and the 2011-2012 Season goes on.
