Marion Barber Retires: Bears RB Says He's Retiring From NFL

OCTOBER 23: Marion Barber #24 of the Chicago Bears beats Sean Jones #26 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to score a touchdown.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Chicago Bears running back Marion Barber said he plans to retire.

His decision, posted on the team's website Friday, comes one day after Michael Bush signed a four-year, $14 million contract to be part of a backfield that includes disgruntled Pro Bowl running back Matt Forte.

The 28-year-old Barber spent his first six NFL seasons with the Dallas Cowboys before signing with the Bears in 2011. He was a backup to Forte last season and then saw extensive duty when Forte sprained his knee in early December.

Barber had six touchdowns and 422 yards rushing last season, but will be remembered for two gaffes in a costly loss at Denver when he ran out of bounds as the Bears were trying to kill the clock, and then fumbled in overtime.

A fourth round pick of the Cowboys in 2005 out of Minnesota, the hard-running Barber gained 4,780 yards rushing on 1,156 carries with 53 touchdowns in his career. He also caught 179 passes for 1,330 yards and six touchdowns.

Barber, who had little to say to reporters during his only year in Chicago, told Larry Mayer of ChicagoBears.com: "I want to thank everyone who gave me the opportunity to play, and I'm very thankful to have had the chance to suit up for two of the NFL's most storied organizations."

"I want to thank everyone who helped me become a better player," Barber said. "I owe a lot to a lot of coaches, and am also very grateful to the owners and organizations I played for. Last but not least, I want to thank the fans for the support and inspiration they gave me."

Forte, who has not been able to reach a long-term contract deal and was given the franchise tag, was not happy when the Bears signed Bush.

On his Twitter account he said he had been disrespected after doing everything he'd been asked to do by the team. He later tweeted that he was not upset at the Bears signing another running back, adding that "undervaluing a player under his market value is another story!"

From our partners

• The 50 Worst Sports Movies - Bleacher Report
• 20 Reasons Baseball Is The Worst - Bleacher Report
• Sports Stars Of The '90s: Where Are They Now? - Bleacher Report

Comments

[Raven21]

01:43 PM on 03/28/2012

Bears Fans--tell Barber and Forte that Raider Fans will gladly take back Michael Bush.

[Puck342]

06:35 PM on 03/27/2012

Losing Barber, but we gained Bush.

Overall win. Now if the Bears front office will just pay FORTE, we'll be solid.

[SoutheastBeast]

12:02 PM on 03/26/2012

This guy played hard. He was fun to watch and hard to tackle.

[SaddleBum]

11:45 AM on 03/26/2012

regarding the denver game - when your mistakes are so boneheaded that people start wondering if the game is fixed, it's time to go

[Yikes11]

01:17 PM on 03/25/2012

DA BEARS!!!!

[sdave]

12:18 PM on 03/25/2012

Retiring at 28? Hope he invested his money well.....

[samuraifrog37]

10:00 PM on 03/25/2012

He played seven yrs...more then a majority of players continue to play. I'm guessing many do invest well...but if these people are part of American society; then he has NOT invested well and has NOT saved a penny and when retirement time comes will have to pull his head out of the sand and find a shelter to live in....I'm guessing your not a multi millionaire but a member of American society...Hope your investments are up to snuff.

[SoutheastBeast]

12:02 PM on 03/26/2012

That's about the age when many running backs go flat.

[ChiGuy]

12:41 AM on 03/25/2012

When I heard that the Bears had signed him, I was hoping he had at least one more year left in the tank. He gave us some plays to cheer about, but it was clear that he just didn't have "it" any more.

Thanks for trying, Mr. Barber. Good luck.

[jflorish]

12:27 AM on 03/25/2012

Why would you retire after only 7 years?? Some teams would surely bring him in and pay him some decent cash even as a backup. Then again if you put all your money away you made, it might be good to step aside injury free and enough to retire.

[joelparker]

11:37 AM on 03/25/2012

Runningbacks have shorter & shorter careers & very little shelf life in the NFL with the pounding they take in a 16-game season.

[Drama Llama]

12:01 PM on 03/26/2012

Cowboys gave him a 12 mil signing bonus so with that he prolly made about 20 or 22 million in that 7 years.. Which seems like a lot but yeah the way NFL'ers blow through money.. I hope he saved a good nest egg. but yeah I imagine he could get 750K a year to be a second or third string.. Guess he would rather enjoy not smashing into things lol

[joelparker]

12:41 PM on 03/26/2012

I remember Barber as a Cowboy, he was their feature back for awhile. Once a RB gets close to age 30 his NFL value plummets.

Even very good, Heisman-winner RBs have been drafted later & later in the 1st round lately. Look at the League leaders in rushing yds, it's like that NFL acronym, Not For Long. They lead in rushing for a yr, or 2 at most, then the injuries catch up. The days of perreniel yardage leaders like Walter Payton or Emmitt Smith are long gone.

[Trentonjordan]

10:57 PM on 03/24/2012

Good riddance Barber. As a Bears fan.....I bid you adieu.

[DCGeorge76]

09:23 PM on 03/24/2012

Marion was fun to watch for two of those 7 years.

[LeeLoPink]

07:32 PM on 03/24/2012

Is he related to Tiki?

[iamfinch]

10:47 PM on 03/24/2012

No they are not related, however Tiki barber does have a brother who plays for the Buccaneers as a CB, Ronde Barber.

[LeeLoPink]

10:07 AM on 03/25/2012

Thank you for your replies. The question pops up every time I heard Marion Barber's name during the season and then I forget to research it. And hearing Ronde & Dominique's name during the season probably would have sent me over the edge. Now I know!!

[iamfinch]

10:50 PM on 03/24/2012

And Marion Barber's brother Dominique Barber plays Safety for the Texans.

[Trickery]

07:16 PM on 03/24/2012

Forgot "24" isn't Matt Forte's number. Almost died for a second :/

[thecoach45]

07:00 PM on 03/24/2012

It was great seeing Barber wear the Star...His running style meant that he would not have a real long career

[RealistBC]

02:24 PM on 03/24/2012

Chicago team GMs leave a lot to be desired. They don't seem to know when players are valuable, nor do they figure out who is not until it's too late.

[cyclomatic411]

01:57 PM on 03/24/2012

Wow...too much talent left....too young. Sleep on it; by Wed next week they'll be at least 6 or 7 teams looking to find a way to get Barber onto their roster. Especially the Jets, Broncos, and Washington.

[RealistBC]

02:30 PM on 03/24/2012

And if Forte were to announce he was willing to retire? I'm sure plenty of teams would want him as well.

[ChiGuy]

12:51 AM on 03/25/2012

If he retired, and then decided he wanted to come back to the NFL, the Bears would still own the rights to him and he would still have to play for them unless they struck some kind of trade deal with another team, or outright cut him loose.

That's what happened when Favre "retired" from the NYJ and then decided he wanted to keep going. The Jets, more generously that I might have been, released him from his contract so he could sign with the Vikes.

[jflorish]

12:28 AM on 03/25/2012

Yeah unless he just doesn't care to play anymore, hopefully he put his money away. Alot of teams would take him as a rotation back for sure.