It’s no secret that Barber is in the twilight of his Hall of Fame career, but the question is will he finish it in the place that career not only started, but was made?

If history has anything to say then the answer is a resounding ‘No’.

Just about every legendary player to have played the game of football has not finished with the team they will represent in the Hall of Fame. Jerry Rice finished in Seattle, Joe Montana finished in Kansas City, Emmitt Smith in Arizona and Jonny Unitas in San Diego. All of these legendary careers ended in uniforms other then ones the memories were made in.

Ronde Barber may be the last legendary Buccaneer to be cut loose by the Glazers (Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-US PRESSWIRE

That could be the case with Ronde Barber who very well could end his illustrious career with someone like the Washington Redskins.

If you need more diversity among disanalogies for Barber leaving, look no further then how the Glazer’s gracefully parted ways with the players that made them the owners of a legitimate franchise.

When the last regime change occurred, the Glazer’s cleaned house cutting almost all the veterans loose. One of these guys was Derrick Brooks who’s career is not too far off from Barber’s in Tampa. Brooks played his whole career with the Buccaneers and was a key piece of one of the best defenses in NFL history in 2002. But when the Buccaneers wanted to switch up the regime, Brooks wasn’t in the right age bracket and was cut — just like that.

Barber was kept around when Raheem Morris took over for Jon Gruden in 2009 but as we change up coaches less then four years later, Barber might be on the opposite end of the situation.

Given the utter lack of depth and talent at the corner position Barber may yet again be salvaged but the Glazer’s want to facelift this team from what Raheem Morris represented and Ronde Barber was one of his strongest supporters. This in combination with his age might mean the end of Barber in Tampa.

How fitting that his career in Tampa ended with a broken arm after all those consecutive starts — he’s wounded inside and out.

It would honestly be one of the biggest tragedies in Buccaneers history. It’s rare to have a player finish his career with the team he made it with but why is that a logical reason to not allow Barber to be one of the few?

Sapp. Dunn. Lynch. All of them built this franchise, all of them retired and are now more invested in other franchises or outlets. There is no real history with the Buccaneers like there is with Green Bay or other franchises because they seem to close doors with their legends. Warrick Dunn has a minority ownership in the Atlanta Falcons, Lynch is almost equally remembered in Denver as he is in Tampa and Sapp has done Dancing With the Stars.

These players don’t denounce their time with the Buccaneers but for all the sweat and blood they gave they aren’t nearly involved as they should or could be. To have this happen to Barber wouldn’t be a surprise but it would officially mean the Buccaneers are starting over with basically a brand new franchise.

Barber’s contract is up and he’s an unrestricted free agent and the chances are the Glazer’s won’t offer him a new deal or if they do it will be an insultingly low offer for most likely another year.

The most likely landing spot for Barber is in Washington where he can be reunited with Raheem Morris and be the next veteran in line for Daniel Snyder’s over paying of over the hill players.

It’s really tough to swallow yet another Buccaneer who made the Galzer’s and this franchise respectable be simply flicked off to the side with a half hearted “Thank you”.

The cliche is “we’ll always have the memories” but when you gave as much as Barber did there should be a helluva lot more then a pat on the back and a hand shake.

 This is a man who has blown relationships with local writers, national writers (all will name unmentioned) and supposedly got into a fistfight with a local (very big) writer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and a respected member in the Tampa Bay community.  This is the same man who openly campaigned for the release of TE Jerramy Stevens due to his past transgressions, than subsequently was arrested weeks later for an alleged DUI, cue the “all people mentioned in this post charged with crimes are guilty until proven innocent” line.  HIS THIRD INVOLVEMENT WITH FREAKING DUI’S!  Duemig also was the same genius who broke the story about the Buccaneers being moved to Los Angeles in 2000, about Phil Mickelson’s alleged gambling debts, and in all of these scenarios, his “unnamed sources” always take the fall for his preposterous musings.  

There is one thing I’m sure of…he has had it out for Jon Gruden since the day he replaced Tony Dungy.  The only time in which this stance was not apparent was when interviewing Gruden, he would act like he liked him (coward), but with no Gruden around he made no bones about hating the man. No matter the results on the football field, the campaign remained strong…to run Jon Gruden out of town.  Well, apparently his venom finally got him his wish.  

It is being reported now from the St Pete Times, unabashed Gruden haters as well, that the Glazers not only sought the advice of a few players on the football team, but also sought the advice of the fans.  

“We talked to a lot of people, but we not only talked to the players, but (also) out in the community getting a feel for the team,” co-owner Bryan Glazer told the Times today at the Super Bowl media center in Tampa, Fla. “We get opinions and we mix them all together. We just took our time making that decision.”

“Our fans are our stockholders. They’re what we play for — the people in our stadium and the ones that watch on TV. That’s what it’s all about: winning and how they feel about the team. If they don’t feel good about the team, then there’s something wrong. . . I think you all know the sense that’s out there. It was time for a change.”

“I THINK YOU ALL KNOW THE SENSE THAT’S OUT THERE!” –   That is classic.  The funny thing to me, is I’ll give the man credit for the first time in my life.  Although he helped me personally propel a cause I had undertaken (the ouster of ex-Rays owner Vince Naimoli via Oust Naimoli) to a national stage, by allowing me to talk about Oust Naimoli on the air, I never liked the guy, and never will.   He did accomplish his goal though, Jon Gruden and Bruce Allen are gone, let’s see how long he gives the new regime before calling for their heads for 4 hours a day, 5 days a week.