Tampa Bay Buccaneers face decision on Peyton Barber

As Tampa Bay Buccaneers running again Peyton Barber departed into the offseason, the previous Auburn standout informed reporters he hoped he’d been ready to “showcase what I was ready to do in certain pieces of my game” in the course of the 2018 time.

“I really feel like I was ready to exhibit I was an each individual-down again,” Barber claimed. “I can catch, I can block, I can run the ball, get the challenging yards.”

In his third NFL time, Barber started out all 16 typical-time video games for the Buccaneers, receiving far more work than in his to start with two a long time mixed.

Barber ran for 871 yards and 5 touchdowns on 234 carries and caught 20 passes for 92 yards and 1 landing, and he considered he experienced only started out coming into his possess.

“I really feel like there’s nevertheless a lot far more out there that I’d like to exhibit,” Barber claimed.

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Barber may get a prospect to do that in 2019 for a new mentor. Immediately after finishing 5-11 in 2018, Tampa Bay fired mentor Dirk Koetter, who posted a 19-29 file in a few seasons guiding Tampa Bay, and replaced him with Bruce Arians.

In Arians’ earlier quit with the Arizona Cardinals, the mentor helped switch David Johnson into 1 of the most successful and flexible backs in the NFL. Johnson gained All-Professional recognition in his second time as he ran for 1,239 yards and 16 touchdowns and caught 80 passes, together with four for touchdowns in 2015, when the Cardinals attained the NFC championship game.

Barber claimed he failed to think the Bucs had been much from getting a postseason crew, regardless of their displaying in 2018, which was Tampa Bay’s 11th consecutive time without having a playoff berth.

“We’re suitable there,” Barber claimed. “We ought to have been there.”

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But will Barber perform for Arians in Tampa Bay?

Immediately after a few seasons, he is a limited absolutely free agent. He could go away the Bucs. But mainly because he is a limited and not unrestricted absolutely free agent, Tampa Bay could make that challenging by retaining the suitable to match any other team’s supply to Barber at the minimum and placing a tender on the running again that would make a crew signing Barber give the Buccaneers a draft pick for doing so.

In return for holding Barber for yet another time, Tampa Bay would give him a considerable spend maximize — at minimum up to $2 million — following he performed the 2018 time for $630,000, the least for an NFL participant in his third marketing campaign.

Unless of course Tampa Bay plans to make a splash in absolutely free agency by signing 1 of the obtainable large-title running backs, these kinds of as Le’Veon Bell or Mark Ingram, which could be a challenging proposition below the team’s current salary-cap condition, the Buccaneers appear likely to make the expenditure in Barber.

Tampa Bay also retains the fifth alternative in the 2019 NFL Draft, most likely far too early for a running again to come off the board. The Bucs used a second-spherical pick on a running again last calendar year, but Ronald Jones’ rookie time created only 44 yards and 1 landing on 23 dashing attempts and seven receptions for 33 yards.

In his rookie time, Barber experienced 223 yards and 1 landing on 55 carries and caught 5 passes for 28 yards. In 2017, Barber ran for 423 yards and a few touchdowns on 108 carries. He set up his 2018 time by starting off four video games in December to overtake Doug Martin as the Bucs’ main rusher in 2017.

Mark Inabinett is a athletics reporter for Alabama Media Team. Observe him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.