Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have reportedly told franchise legend Ronde Barber that they would like him back in the fold next season, and they are allowing him time to decide if he would like to accept or not. Normally when we look at players contracts being renewed or players being released the focus is solely on what we expect that guy to do on the field. With Ronde, it’s a different story.

Ronde is no longer the elite cover guy and ball hawk he used to be. The 2002 version of Ronde is 11 years older, and has lost a step. But his best attribute is his ability to lead the defense. Barber is a consummate pro in the NFL. He’s the kind of guy that will be essentially a coach on the field. There’s nothing Ronde hasn’t seen before. There’s a lot Mark Barron, Mason Foster, and Adrian Clayborn haven’t seen. But Ronde is always in the right place, and can help make sure he passes along that wisdom to his younger teammates.

The Bucs have a lot of young talent on the defensive side of the ball. They have potential leaders on all three levels in Mark Barron, Mason Foster/Lavonte David, and Gerald McCoy. But what they don’t have is experience playing at a high level as defensive unit. The ability is there, but they need guidance. Ronde is the guru. He knows what it takes to be a part of a defense that carries a team to wins. He knows how to prepare, he knows how to make adjustments, and he knows how to get his team off the field, and set up his offense for success.

Barber is essentially a nickel back at this point of his career. He was solid at the safety spot a year ago, and the Bucs may opt to run him back out there in the same function next year if he comes back. He’s not going to be a critical piece physically to turn this defense around, but his presence will make the unit better. To borrow a baseball term, his “wins above replacement” is not going to be high, but his leadership and experience will suit this young unit well, both on the game field and more importantly the practice field. He gets the job done from an athletic perspective, but it’s what he does as a veteran and a leader that make his hopeful return in 2013 that much more important.

The Buccaneers wrapped their final open practice of training camp, and it was a nice improvement over yesterday. (Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

Ronde Barber sat out the Buccaneers first preseason game with a minor injury but he returned to practice today and head coach Greg Schiano worked him hard.

Barber saw work at what appeared to be every single spot on defense except the frontline as he saw an extra load of reps with the second unit. Roy Cummings of the Tamp Times noted that at one point it appeared Barber was playing linebacker while Dakota Watson slide down to the defensive line.

Interesting defensive look here: Barber at LB, Watson at LDE, Bennett at DT. That could cause a little confusion

— Roy Cummings (@RCummingsTrib) August 14, 2012

As Bucs Nation noted, and I fully agree upon, it’s likely that Barber was the slot corner with run defense responsibilities. But Watson played Michael Bennet played the defensive line a lot last year (well Bennett did because, ya know, that’s where he plays). Bennett played the three-tackle position in this package, something he did a lot last year too.

Ronde also got some regular reps at the slot corner spot as well. While Barber was sort of at home at corner, the safety spot opposite Mark Barron he left vacant was held down by Ahmed Black.

Barron himself was returning from a minor injury. He too, sat out Friday’s preseason opener and is set to make his Bucs debut this Friday against the Titans.

Speaking of safety, Myron Lewis got more first team even though his performance in Friday’s preseason game was less than impressive. Larry Asante and Cody Grimm were both practicing with the second unit and it looked like Grimm was getting reps over Asante. Grimm was also coming off a poor performance on Friday and continued the trend of safeties getting a second sot to prove themselves.

As for the offense, Tiquan Underwood continued to look impressive. But it was Mike Williams who had the best catch of the day, making an amazing catch and converting a 4th and 20 during the two minute drill, at the expense of rookie Mark Barron. Williams pretty much stole the ball away from Barron on the play, one that drew applause from the crowd.

The Bucs wrapped up their final open practice of training camp today and even though the season is just around the corner, there is going to be a lot of changes on this roster before September 9th.

December 17, 2011; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Ronde Barber (20) tackles Dallas Cowboys running back Felix Jones (28) during the first half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

Barber is well past prime as an NFL corner, he wins now on his intelligence and instincts, but his athleticism is not what it once was. Moving him to safety allows the Bucs to keep his football IQ in the secondary, but alleviates some of the liability that comes with lining him up as a boundary or field corner (he’s still solid in the nickel).

Right now, the move seems to be more related to the Bucs’ needs than Barber’s skill-set though. With the exception of the oft-injured Cody Grimm, there are no safeties returning next season and the team is desperate to find a capable player to team with first round pick Mark Barron.

“If we need to make a move to pull Ronde back from safety and down to corner, we can do that in a heartbeat,” Dominik told the Tampa Tribune.

The team still needs to make a decision on Aqib Talib, but given their depth right now and the lack of corners that they added in the draft, I can’t see them making the decision to part with Talib lightly. Personally, I think they’ll cut ties with the troubled corner when his contract expires, but until then they need him in their secondary.

Either way, look for Barber to be lining up somewhere new next season…