While the Dallas Cowboys prepare for 2022 with their current running backs - a new outlook from Ezekiel Elliott and a new position for Tony Pollard - the eulogies continue pouring in for one of their best from the past.
Former Pro Bowl runner Marion Barber passed away earlier this week from undetermined reasons at age 38. While Frisco medical examiners attempt to pinpoint a cause of death, Barber's family has decided to donate the battering-ram runner's brain to CTE study.
Joining former Cowboys coach Bill Parcells and ex-teammate Terrell Owens , quarterback Tony Romo shared his heart-felt thoughts and memories of Barber Sunday morning.
Said Romo, "He could bring the whole locker room together in an instant."
Romo and Barber starred together on the Cowboys 2007 team that led the NFL in scoring and went 13-3 before a heartbreaking loss to the Giants in an NFC Divisional Playoff game at Texas Stadium. Despite not starting a single game behind Julius Jones, Barber was named to the Pro Bowl after rushing for 975 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Barber played seven seasons in the NFL, including six with the Cowboys between 2005-11. He ran with an aggressive, punishing style that became his trademark - "Marion the Barbarian."
That physical style, some in his circle have argued, is at the root of behavioral issues and then legal issues that have plagued him in recent years.
He also, of course, produced the greatest 2-yard run in NFL history in 2007 against the Patriots.
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