Emmitt Smith - Retired at Age 35 - Final Season 937 yds 9 TDs
Walter Payton - Retired at Age 33 - Final Season 533 yds 4 TDs
Curtis Martin - Retired at Age 32 - Final Season 735 yds 5 TDs
Jerome Bettis - Retired at Age 33 - Final Season 368 yds 9 TDs
Marcus Allen - 830 yds 9 TDs at age 36, 505 yds 11 TDs at age 37*
Franco Harris - Retired at Age 34 - Final Season 170 yds 0 TDs
John Riggins - 677 yds 8 TDs at age 36**
Thurman Thomas - Retired at Age 34 - Final Season 136 yds 0 TDs
Ottis Anderson - Retired at Age 35 - Final Season 31 yds 0 TDs
Fred Taylor - 155 yds 0 TDs last season at age 34
Earnest Byner - Retired at Age 35 - Final Season 313 yds 0 TDs
Joe Perry - 98 yds 0 TDs at age 36***
Bill Brown - 41 yds 0 TDs at age 36****
*Note that Allen never had more than 208 carries in a season between ages 26 and 37.
**Riggins ran for an absurd 24 touchdowns at age 34 and 14 at age 35.
***Perry who retired in 1963 never had a 200 carry season
****Brown had fewer than 100 carries in each of his last 4 seasons
We'll stop there since that's limited to guys with 1600 carries. Aside from Riggins and Allen there's really no 36 year old running backs in NFL history who ever had a substantial impact. Now the argument could probably be made that Barber has fewer miles on him since he took 4 years off. The only problem with that is that the bottom 3 guys on that list all had fewer carries than Barber did despite playing longer. In fact, only 26 running backs in history had MORE carries than Barber did during his career. So I don't know that that argument works.
Photo Courtesy: nydailynews.com
One thing Tiki has going for him is that he was also a very good pass catcher. In each of his last 8 seasons he caught at least 50 passes. So maybe there's a nitch for him as a third down back; a Kevin Faulk type perhaps. It will be interesting to see who, if anyone, is willing to take a gamble on him. If I had to bet I would say Tampa Bay so he could play with twin brother Ronde Barber. With Cadillac Williams not likely to return there would be an empty spot behind LeGarrette Blount so it's POSSIBLE. It really comes down to how much the guy has in the tank AND what kind of role is he willing to accept.
For kicks I figured I'd put this out to the Fantasy Football League I've been playing in for the last ten years, and see what the guys thought:
Dougie, Giants Fan Extraordinare - "
It is only because he got fired from his job, and probably realizes how much money he is going to owe his future ex-wife...he needs dolla dolla billz.
ReplyDeleteTrue story. But wouldn't you think he'd try and get into coaching or something?
ReplyDeletehis ego makes him believe he is too good to coach....
ReplyDeleteIf the Dolphins sign him, maybe he and LeBron could do a reality show together. They could call it "T-Bron" or "The Barber King" or "In the Tiki Room with LeBron James" or something catchy like that. Who wouldn't watch that train wreck?
ReplyDelete