As Tiki Barber prepares for an NFL comeback attempt, he says one of his top choices would be to play with his brother Ronde in Tampa Bay. But Ronde doesn’t seem to be getting his hopes up about playing with his brother.
“It was an entertaining thought four or five years ago,” Ronde told the St. Petersburg Times. “I don’t know how realistic it is now. I’ve not had a chance to talk to [Bucs GM Mark Dominik or coach Raheem Morris] about it. Maybe the situation would be a little different under different circumstances. But I know he wants to go somewhere where feels like he’s wanted.”
From all indications, Tampa isn’t somewhere where Tiki is wanted. As soon as Tiki said he’d like to play for the Bucs, reports in Tampa surfaced saying the Bucs aren’t interested.
Florio asked Dominik about Barber on Thursday’s PFT Live, and Dominik declined to discuss Barber because of tampering concerns, but he gushed about the Bucs’ three young backs.
Still, Ronde says he’s confident that Tiki will be ready to help some team this season, after four full seasons away.
“He’s prepared, he looks like did pre-retirement,” Ronde said of Tiki. “He really dedicated himself and has been in there working out for four months. The only thing he doesn’t have is the on-field endurance. He’s very adept at what he used to do. I don’t see him having a problem. The one thing he can’t fail at is football.”
But Tiki might fail at finding a team willing to give him a chance.