Tiki Barber returning to NFL
Former Giants running back Tiki Barber has reportedly decided to come out of retirement. (Dec. 30, 2006) Credit: Getty Images
Four years after Tiki Barber walked away from football, he's planning a return. But it won't be with the Giants.
The former running back has filed paperwork to come out of retirement, but the Giants still hold his rights and Barber has two years remaining on his last contract with them.
"We wish Tiki nothing but the best, and when we are able to make the transaction, we will release him from our reserve/retired list," the Giants said Tuesday in a statement. They'll have to wait until a new collective- bargaining agreement is agreed upon before making that move.
Barber is the Giants' all-time leading rusher with 10,449 yards and 55 touchdowns, but he has not endeared himself to the franchise or fans of the team with comments made throughout his four years as a broadcaster, which included knocks against Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin. At a Ring of Honor ceremony at New Meadowlands Stadium last fall, Barber was booed loudly.
Early candidates to express interest in Barber include three former Giants assistants -- coaches John Fox in Denver and Sean Payton in New Orleans and offensive coordinator Chris Palmer in Tennessee -- as well as Tampa Bay, where his twin, Ronde, still plays. It was Ronde, Barber told Foxsports.com, who made him consider a comeback.
"After seeing my brother still have fun at our age, it reignited the fire," Barber said.
"I'm really looking forward to the challenge of seeing if I can get back to the level of where I was. I started working out again recently. I kind of shocked myself. I still had a lot of the strength I had before. I'm really looking forward to making a return."
Barber is 12th all-time with 15,632 yards from scrimmage, and his five 200-yard rushing games are second in NFL history, behind O.J. Simpson's six.
Barber's last season was 2006, in which he ran for 1,662 yards and five touchdowns. He announced his plans for retirement to pursue a broadcasting career midway through that season, an act many considered a distraction to the team. The next season the Giants won Super Bowl XLII.
Barber will turn 36 next month.
Since his football retirement, Barber's personal and professional lives have been bumpy. Originally hired as a correspondent for NBC's "Today" show, Barber also covered sports for the network. By May 2010, he had been let go by NBC.
Last April he left his wife of 11 years, who was eight months' pregnant, for a 23-year-old NBC intern, according to reports. There were also reports that Barber could not afford his alimony payments, perhaps adding to his desire to play again.
He walked away from a Giants contract that had $8.3 million in base salary left on it, but likely would receive little more than the veteran's minimum and an incentive-laden contract from any team that signs him.
There's no secret about how Giants fans would react to Barber if he returned to the NFL. As Giants receiver Steve Smith pointed out on his Twitter account: "Is Tiki 'No Need for a' Barber serious?? Can't wait till he play vs the Giants. They gone hear them Boooo's all way in LA."
