Barry, will he be back?

[Cornbread Maxwell]

I will keep this as polite and civilized as possible. Screw Barry Sanders. That guy single-handedly destroyed the Lions for 10 yrs when he quit. We built our entire team around him, drafted and cultivated the best rushing OL the NFL had seen in some time, and he quits. Sure the Fords are morons when it comes to hiring coaches (God bless, Mooch - they may have finally got one right), but the rebuilding process going from a run heavy- old fashion style team to a west coast offense is a slow one. We didnt even get a chance to trade him. Do you know how hard it is to recover from losing a franchise player without getting a dime for him? The Lions and their fans do.

Please come back, Barry, I didnt get the pleasure of seeing you broken in half.

[Poobah]

Um, don't think I can match Vernon, er, Cornbread's venom, but at this point, who cares if he comes back? He was great, notice the past tense. On the one hand, we wanted to see Emmitt quit a Cowboy and not "tarnish his legacy", but on the other we're captivating about Sanders disappearing. Just walk away, Renee....

[kashikis]

WOW i cant believe i just read a DET fan bash Barry like that.

although i guess i see his point it just stunned me there for a second

[awwchrist]

lets put this into perspective:

He's older than Emmitt Smith and Brett Favre.
Look at where they are at in their careers...at the very VERY end.

True, he hasn't played, but that doesn't equate to staying injury free, much less productive in the NFL. If anything, it could be counter-productive.

If he came back tomorrow I'd draft him as my 4RB.

[kamakazi_kal]

i heard he want to come back and play with a semi-rook QB and a terrible oline

[DraftDodger]

I think the Lions should be allowed to clone him and thereby eventually recoup their loss.

In fact, with the League's neverending quest for parity, I'm surprised they haven't preserved DNA from all the star athletes so that they eventually have all their teams with the exact same superstars playing opposite each other.

"Who you expectin' to lead the league in rushing in 2026?"

"Priest Holmes."

"Which one?"

"All of him."

[zombiez]

funny i don't remember any great lions offensive lines, they had a couple good ones, but no great ones.....Emmit had great o lines, and great players arround him, not Barry Sanders.........I think the Lions orginization got what it deserved