ESPN MacMahon: Cutting Barber makes sense for Cowboys

[Tractor1]

If you were a GM would you give up a late 3rd or middle 4th for Barber?

No. Why spend that type of money when a team should be able to aquire a comparable back for much less money in the fourth.

 

[texmex]

I fail to see what Barber brings to the table that they can't get out of Jones or Choice. I don't see them cutting Barber cause its not like they are in a dire salary cap situation, but I somebody isn't gonna be happy with their playing time.

 

[Eskimo]

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.

He has one thousand yard season in six years. He is what he is at this point. You don't day for potential at this stage of a player's career - you pay for production. I agree that he is tall, big, fast and used to have good hands. But he also appears to be lazy, run bad routes, have bad hands and dumb (hasn't learned the route adjustments yet).

Jerry made a big mistake. His value was probably a 2nd round pick at the time of the trade - the Lions squeezed a 1st and a 3rd because they knew he was infatuated with Roy.

The Lions GM outsmarted our GM - you can't say that too much about their FO.

I would love to have Roy and that stupid contract off the books but Jerry guaranteed way too much money. You don't pay lazy players big money - Jerry's second mistake.

 

[ThreeSportStar80]

Bottom line is Dallas won't pay Barber that signing bonus.

 

[YosemiteSam]

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

Hard to trade fat contracts when a player isn't near as productive as he was when he signed it.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Bottom line is Dallas won't pay Barber that signing bonus.

Knowing Jerry and what Barber meant to the team not long ago. I'm thinking he will.

 

[Don Corleone]

Knowing Jerry and what Barber meant to the team not long ago. I'm thinking he will.

So what exactly does Barber mean to the team? 2 yards and a cloud of dust? Getting stuffed repeatedly in short yardage?

Aside from the o-line, he is the 2nd biggest stumbling block that must be overcome to make this team elite.

 

[Chief]

Those thinking we could get a 4th for Barber are mistaken. We would be lucky to get a 5th for him. Runningbacks with Barber's mileage and wear and tear have little trade value.

So true.

People here are way over-estimating his trade value.

I think Jerry will cut him.

And I'm ok with that.

 

[Coakleys Dad]

So what exactly does Barber mean to the team? 2 yards and a cloud of dust? Getting stuffed repeatedly in short yardage?

Aside from the o-line, he is the 2nd biggest stumbling block that must be overcome to make this team elite.

spot on. More Choice.

 

[Eskimo]

So true.

People here are way over-estimating his trade value.

I think Jerry will cut him.

And I'm ok with that.

I'd be fine with cutting him, too. This is not because I think he is without a role. It is because he makes too much money (only Jerry's problem in a year without a cap) and he takes away too many carries from Felix presently. If Garrett could use him appropriately, he can still be an asset.

If it weren't for that roster bonus, I wouldn't mind seeing what he looked like in preseason before cutting him. We could then see if an offseason off let his burst and speed come back.

If only Jerry had just paid Barber the $2M tender in 2008 we wouldn't be in this situation. He is so bad with fiscal management of this team. We regualarly have over $10M dead money. I really hope we have no cap in the future because Jerry hasn't figured it out yet.

 

[Don Corleone]

So true.

People here are way over-estimating his trade value.

I think Jerry will cut him.

And I'm ok with that.

A trade would assume that another team is willing to take on his salary and the associated risk of having him occupy a roster spot. The risk vs. reward isn't there with Barber. His running style is not suited for him to be a feature back. He should have never been more than a #2 back IMO.

If Jerry could restructure his contract, perhaps he could feel compelled to keep him, or make him more attractive for a trade offer, but I would see no more than a 5th rounder at best.

Add that running backs are a dime a dozen these days. I don't think a trade partner would even surface.

 

[Nexx]

If you were a GM would you give up a late 3rd or middle 4th for Barber?

lol hell no! just homer fans over valuing their team's players. if i were a GM, the only way i would have Barber on my team would be to sign him to very cheap contract as a free agent. there is no way i would trade anything for him cause i would be responsible for that horrible contract.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

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.

Which i found very interesting if only because it does lend to the thought process that they could be genuinely interested in cutting Barber and his salary.

Heres what I'd hate about just cutting him though. If we cut him (and I get the money reasons for it) and say Westbrook retires in Philly as many believe he might, I could see them snatching him right up to go as a compliment with McCoy to give them their power guy they dont have.

Now I'm not afraid of playing against Barber. I just don't believe in that BS of being afraid of playing against certain players but I'd hate to see that guy doing anything good for Philly.

Or also, a real possibility, in Washington where I'm sure Shanny will get the O-Line thing in better shape and he's proven able to turn even useless backs (And I certainly don't believe Barber is useless) into gold mines.

 

[BlueStar II]

While Barber has played hard for us, but when you weigh his cost vs. production, it may come down to where we can get that type of production out of someone else for far less money. I don't see many teams wanting to give us much for him in a trade. However - "if" we can find someone who wants him, get a pick for him and use it to possibly bring in a guy who can produce in short yardage, but for far less money.

 

[links18]

Everyone is forgetting we are talking Wade and JJ here. They couldn't even bring themselves to cut Folk after week and week of missed FGs. Barber will be here next year.

 

[Hoofbite]

Has Adam weighed in on the cap situation with Barber?

I'd really like to see how it shakes out in the cut/keep comparison.

I like Barber and hope he stays. I think he needs to be the closer but maybe after renegotiated contract.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

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.

It pains me to say I agree with all this...


But I agree with all this.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Has Adam weighed in on the cap situation with Barber?

I'd really like to see how it shakes out in the cut/keep comparison.

I like Barber and hope he stays. I think he needs to be the closer but maybe after renegotiated contract.

If there is no cap next year then it's all superfluous... HOWEVER...


The guy is still scheduled to make $8 over the next two seasons AND he's suppose to be collecting another $4 mil this spring.

That's $12 mill.

Ouch.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

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?

No one is stupid enough to offer a 3rd for a guy who's...

1. Always nicked up.

2. Hasn't been better than average in 2+ years.

3. Is due close to $8 mil in salary over the next 2 years AND another $4 mil this spring in guaranteed money.

You smell what I'm cookin here?

 

[MichaelWinicki]

So true.

People here are way over-estimating his trade value.

I think Jerry will cut him.

And I'm ok with that.

Me too Chief.

Which has been a bigger problem for the Cowboy brain-trust over the years:

A. Hanging on to guys too long and paying them too much money.

Or...

B. Letting guys go too soon and they become useful players for other teams.


I think we know the answer.