Why Tiki Barber's Return to the Game is a Mistake

The big news around the league yesterday was nothing that happened during the negotiations between the NFL and NFLPA, but rather the fact that former New York Giants' All Pro running back Tiki Barber has announced he has filed his papers to un-retire and return to the game, according to Fox's Jay Glazer.

Tiki, 35, has been out of the game since he surprised everyone with a retirement announcement which took affect at the end of the 2006 season.

With a possible lockout looming, this news story is certainly a nice break from the negotiations but at the same time seems a bit ridiculous. Teams do not want a 30-plus year old running back on their roster, let alone a 35-year old who's been out of the league for four seasons.

Fact: only two running backs in the top 30 rushing yard totals from this past season were above the age of 30, and neither Ladainian Tomlinson (31) nor Thomas Jones (32) were the feature guys on their respective squads.

Obviously if he wants this return to be successful he will have to take a one-year deal and a very limited role, so it could work if he's very flexible and agrees to the terms he's given. But if he's going out of his way to make a comeback, you'd think that he actually wants to play football and not just be a mentor and/or "father figure" for the franchise's feature back.

Another obvious fact I would like to point out is that he will not be a New York Giant. First of all, after joining NBC's crew on "Football Night in America" he totally blasted his former coach, teammates and just the franchise in general. Second, they have already announced that they have released him.

Now that we have that out of that way, is anyone going to be willing to sign him to even a short-term deal? I no I wouldn't given his checkered past. He has shown he has a tendency to resort to his selfish self. If it isn't the fact he blasted the Giants' head coach and quarterback on-air, allegedly cheated on his wife with a 23-year old NBC intern (later dumped his pregnant wife for the intern) and was eventually let go by NBC after they decided not to renew his contract.

According to several reports Barber is near broke and that could very well be the reason he is looking to return to the game. Correction: That HAS to be the reason for his decision.

Any way you put it, I think I can speak for everyone when I say Barber's return to the game of football will end badly, if it even gets off the ground at all. You may have been a great running back during the prime of your career, Tiki, but lets face it, this won't work out in the end.

My advice to Tiki: try the UFL first.

Photo: No copyright infringement intended