On Tuesday the news of Tiki Barber’s improbable return to the gridiron was released. People have had a day to digest Tiki’s comeback and have come to three conclusions: he needs the money, he was a bad teammate, and he won’t be successful.
Given his status as the Giants’ franchise leading rusher, Barber will likely at least be able to get a workout with some teams. He may be 36 and he may have been retired the past four seasons, but his trainer Joe Carini says he’s still in fantastic shape.
“It’s all still there, man,” Carini said. “The guy is strong is hell. He has no injuries, his knees are great, his back is fine, no shoulder irritations, his ankles are good. It’s like when I first met him again.”
Supporting the sentiment that Barber is close to being ready for the field is his work in the weight room. He’s reportedly already leg-pressing nearly 1,000 pounds, squatting 800 pounds and dead-lifting more than 600. I’m not so sure that correlates with an ability to run and cut like he used to, but it’s a good start.
Honestly, I’ll reserve jokes until I hear about the way he looks on the field. Barber was a talented running back and I wouldn’t put it past him to make a relatively successful comeback.
