Tiki Barber went very public in the offseason with his desire to come out of retirement and play again in the NFL, going as far as to say he "needed the game" in an interview with HBO.
As it turned out, no teams believed they needed the former Giants All-Pro. This doesn't pass the smell test for Jets wideout Plaxico Burress, who believes his former teammate should be playing somewhere right now.
"It's crazy," Burress told the New York Post in Friday's edition. "He's better than half the backs in the league."
Barber abruptly retired following the 2006 season to pursue a career in broadcasting. He was 31 and at the apex of his powers when he stepped away from the game, coming off the two best seasons of his career.
Burress -- who played with Barber for two seasons with the Giants and knows a thing or two about comebacks -- believes Barber can still play and have an impact at age 36.
"I never realized how good he was until I played with him," Burress said.
Yes, he's been his own worst enemy at times, but Barber is a sad case in some ways. He made it exceedingly clear during his spring media blitz that the comeback attempt was a personal crusade after his TV career failed, his marriage publicly crumbled, and he sunk into a state of depression. It's been a rough go for Barber, and getting the cold shoulder from the NFL surely doesn't help.
