ESPN MacMahon: Cutting Barber makes sense for Cowboys

[sonnyboy]

who is due a base salary of $3.8 million, a $4 million roster bonus this spring.

I'm reading all these trade Barber for a 3rd or 4th rd pick responses and wonder if you guys noticed this.

Barber has zero trade value under this contract.

And when I say zero, I mean zero! If he were released tomorrow, no team would claim him off wavers and assume his current contract.
Barber's recent past production (2008 & 2009) does not warrant 7.8 mil in 2010.

Any team trading for or claiming him would not only be on the hook for 7.8 in 2010, they'd have to pay him whatever he was scheduled to make in 2011 if they wanted to maintain his rights going forward.

I thought he'd gotten a large signing bonus in 2008 and that his annual salary #s were more reasonable. Starting to think his release is more likely.

Would very much like to know his terms and how much money we'd take a hit for releasing him. Considering what he's scheduled to make, I can't believe it's much.

 

[sonnyboy]

He has no trade value with that contract and his durability issue combined with the wear and tear on his body over the last three seasons.

You put on the film and he's already showings signs of slowing down.

He isn't going to get much better than what he is even if he's 100% healthy.

And RB's are a dime a dozen in the game today.

Choice has the trade value.

Power running game between the tackles in the red zone. We don't have one right now.

The Cowboys brass was talking to Ben Tate down at the Senior Bowl. He's a Shonn Greene type of runner. Sort of like a combo of Barber and Choice in one guy.

Not so great minds think alike.

Do you know the cost of releasing him? How much of a SB would be accelerated to 2010?

Starting to think the only way to justify keeping him is if we expanded his role to play a lot of FB.

 

[links18]

There is no such thing as injury prone and why do players sign contracts that make it easier for teams to cut them?

 

[dadymat]

I would think he would get less carries but he isnt going anywhere , nor would i want him too.....he isnt part of the problem...he IS part of the solution...they just need to all be used properly .....he is everything you would want in a 3rd down short yardage back......Felix hasnt been healthy a full season yet, Choice has shown some signs of being good but still ultimately unproven.....we started the season happy as hell to have a three headed monster at RB ....now everyone wants to cut one because the other appears better......we knew all along that one would emerge as the best of the 3...but that shouldnt impact wanting the other 2...its a luxury to have all three, so just enjoy the depth......

 

[RealCowboyfan]

Dumb premise. Why cut him - trades do occasionally occur.

RIGHT! Don't just cut him. Unless you can replace him with a someone like L.T.

 

[Eskimo]

Not so great minds think alike.

Do you know the cost of releasing him? How much of a SB would be accelerated to 2010?

Starting to think the only way to justify keeping him is if we expanded his role to play a lot of FB.

He cannot play FB - he has the wrong body type for the position. FBs are usually built like fire hydrants. He will breakdown quickly at that spot.

His contract is a huge albatross in the era of salary caps.

Jerry will really need to re-think who he gives big money to, who he trades and who he let's walk. He needs to improve his job in fiscal management of the payroll.

Here are the terrible contracts he has given out lately that threaten our ability to be competitive should the cap be re-introduced:

Flo - too much guaranteed money for an old guy
Barber - too much money for a guy with 3 starts
RW11 - just badly misjudged his talent
Hamlin - just vastly overrated his abilities
TO - yes, we already took the hit for this one but I just wanted to remind everyone about it. He was let go before he even hit the first year of his extension.
Davis - really big contract for a very mediocre player

TNew is borderline.

While people may say that he mitigated these mistakes by developing a UDFA like Miles and Romo, I say that this mitigated only the player acquisition side of things. On the fiscal side of things, we didn't get much "cheap performance" out of them. By the time these guys hit the field, they were already approaching FA. From Romo, we got one cheap season. From Miles, we will have gotten one cheap season. So from the fiscal side of things, his succcesses with the UDFAs do not mitigate his failures on the other contracts.

I really think we need to hire a scout whose job it is to rank all the players on the roster versus their counterparts in the league and decide what is a reasonable salary to pay them. Any guy whose demands vastly exceeds his abilities should be shown the door. He seemed to do this with Canty so I'm hopeful that he is finally learning this part of the game. The next part he has to learn is how to get value when we have hit the end of the line with a player. The Pats traded Seymour to the Raiders for a first rounder. We cut Ellis who signed with them and we got nothing. Seymour is not that much better of a player than Ellis and he also isn't that much younger.

 

[UnoDallas]

Barber Replacement

Cowboys talking with Ben Tate at Senior Bowl

 

[NeonNinja]

Barber Replacement

Cowboys talking with Ben Tate at Senior Bowl

It wouldn't shock me if we attempt to ask around during the draft or before and try to move Barber.

 

[yimyammer]

Why can't Jerry & Co just make him the 3rd back? Tough crap if he doesn't like it!

 

[LatinMind]

nobody is gonna trade for him with his contract.

 

[Eskimo]

Why can't Jerry & Co just make him the 3rd back? Tough crap if he doesn't like it!

He could be the #3 back.

The two problems are his contract and the fact that Garrett has fallen in love with him and won't play Felix much so long as Barber is around.

 

[Future]

Cutting Barber would be foolish. Give the guy another year. Heck what's the worst thing that happens, he gets hurt and Choice takes his role? Keep him around.

I give him another year to see if he can get it back.

If they were to cut him draft Dwyer or Hardesty and let's go.

The problem with that, or the reason that he should probably be cut now is that the cap hit won't matter. We cut him and there is minimal losses...but if we wait and see and have to cut him next year, it would hurt a salary cap.

At this point I think we should cut our losses with him and let Felix and TC carry the load, finding a third RB is easy. I don't think he's that great of a leader and TC is a great one. It would pain me to see him go in this way, but sometimes moves need to be made.

 

[yimyammer]

He could be the #3 back.

The two problems are his contract and the fact that Garrett has fallen in love with him and won't play Felix much so long as Barber is around.

So it appears our decision makers are screwing up putting the best team on the field.

This is the problem, not Barber.

 

[iceberg]

Cutting Barber makes sense for Cowboys
January, 27, 2010

By Tim MacMahon

The case to cut Marion Barber is simple: The Cowboys can get similar production from Tashard Choice for less than one-tenth of the price.

Jerry Jones told reporters at the Senior Bowl that money won't be a determining factor on whether Barber will be back next season. We'll see if the owner feels the same way when it comes time to give Barber, who is due a base salary of $3.8 million, a $4 million roster bonus this spring.

This isn't about bashing Barber, whose production has dropped drastically since he signed a seven-year, $45 million deal and became the Cowboys' starter. If it was, we'd point out that he's injury prone and disturbingly ineffective in short-yardage situations for a back whose game is based on power.

The Cowboys would be foolish not to make Felix Jones the lead horse in 2010. Choice is more than capable of serving as a complementary back, and unlike Barber, he'd fill that role at a reasonable price. The Cowboys can draft another back in the middle rounds to play special teams and back up Jones and Choice.

Choice's opportunities haven't come often, but he's proven the Cowboys can count on him.

There have been nine games in which Choice got at least eight carries over the last two seasons. In those games, he rushed for 631 yards (5.0 per carry) and five touchdowns and caught 28 passes for 258 yards.

In other words, when given a chance, Choice has been better than Barber.

The dollars aren't the only reasons it makes sense for the Cowboys to move on without Barber.

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Not sure about this. Yes, it would save Jerry money, but how would it make us a better team in 2010? Nor do I see Choice as a goal line hammer.

writers who write this crap are TOAN useless.

low hanging fruit and they're paid to be more.

 

[Eskimo]

So it appears our decision makers are screwing up putting the best team on the field.

This is the problem, not Barber.

I really think that Garrett needs to carefully go back and think why he did not put Felix on the field more and why it took an injury to get Austin on the field. There is just far too much importance placed on experience over ability. Perhaps he believes that it is his schemes that will win the games instead of players and he would rather have veterans playing because they know the plays better and are less likely to make mistakes.

This year we discovered we had these potentially great young players: Felix, Miles and Free. In each case it took an injury for us to see them. The situation is partly understable in Free's case because OLs play as units. In Felix's and Miles' case it is inexcusable that they were neglected for this long. I suspect Ogletree will prove to be the complement to Miles that we have been looking for. I really hope RW gets an injury that puts him on the sideline early in the year - nothing major - just a couple of games. This will give Ogletree a chance to audition.

Ogletree must be a great one for Garrett to have used him as a rookie so much.

 

[Idgit]

Right. We trade Barber for a third and then pickup his replacement in the middle rounds of the draft. What's wrong with that picture?

 

[Eskimo]

Right. We trade Barber for a third and then pickup his replacement in the middle rounds of the draft. What's wrong with that picture?

I question spending a pick on the #3 RB. We should try to find a UDFA. Didn't the Giants find both Ware and Bradshaw that way?

 

[dbair1967]

Barber Replacement

Cowboys talking with Ben Tate at Senior Bowl

I like Ben Tate. Would definitely be a quality replacement for Barber if we let him go.

The people thinking he has trade value though are going to be sorely disappointed.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Here are the terrible contracts he has given out lately that threaten our ability to be competitive should the cap be re-introduced:

RW11 - just badly misjudged his talent

I couldn't disagree more. He is very talented. Now I'm not sure when we will see it on the field but there is no question this man is talented.

 

[Cowboy Bill Watts]

barber has two problems which in my opinion he cannot overcome.


1. his production has dropped since he signed the big contract.

2. productive running backs are relatively easy to find.


not sure i see JJ cutting him, but i don't see him in cowboy blue next year.