The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made one of the biggest moves of the NFL offseason by trading for New York Jets star Darrelle Revis and that decision may have been the move that ended the career of longtime cornerback Ronde Barber, who is retiring after playing 16 seasons in the league.
According to ESPN.com, Barber has decided to call it quits after a lengthy career, saying that he felt it was time and that he had a great run. The news was first reported by FoxSports.com and Barber confirmed the news through the website. The 38-year-old has played with the Buccaneers for his entire career and he spent the offseason trying to figure out whether to come back for another season or not. Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano and the organization gave Barber time to think about his decision and he decided to end his career after 16 seasons.
Barber played at free safety last season after starting off as a cornerback due to his age and after the team signed free agent Dashon Goldson to a contract, he felt it was the right time to walk away. Barber is too old to play cornerback and he was previously selected to the Pro Bowl five times. He played in over 240 games for the Bucs during his career and made 1,234 tackles and 47 interceptions while being one of the most consistent cornerbacks in the league. Barber is the franchise leader for the Buccaneers in interceptions and defensive touchdowns with eight in 16 years.
Barber went to the playoffs multiple times in his career with the team and he also played against his twin brother Tiki Barber, a former running back for the New York Giants. Barber won a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers against the Oakland Raiders and he had one of the best plays during the team's run to the championship with a 92-yard interception in the 27-10 win in 2003 against the Eagles in the championship game. The Buccaneers defeated the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII with head coach Jon Gruden. Barber also played for Raheem Morris and Tony Dungy while with the franchise.
Barber likely will get inducted into the team's Ring of Honor at some point and he was able to retire with the team while not playing for anyone else, something longtime great John Lynch did not get to do. The team was willing to take Barber back, albeit in a likely reserve role, but instead he decided to retire. The team was prepared for that decision, as they traded for Revis and also drafted Jonthan Banks from UCLA. Last season the team ranked dead last in passing defense by yards per game, giving up nearly 300 yards per contest. It was a stark difference from the run defense, which ranked first.
Barber's brother Tiki wrote on Twitter about his brother: "Congrats & happy for my twin, Ronde, who's hanging up the cleats!"