Marion Barber III Marion Sylvester Barber III ( born June 10 , 1983 ) is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League ( NFL ) for seven seasons . After playing college football for the Minnesota Golden Gophers , he was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft . He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2007 during his six - year tenure with the Cowboys . He played for the Chicago Bears in 2011 . He is the older brother of former Houston Texans safety Dominique Barber and the son of former New York Jets running back Marion Barber , Jr . Early years . Barber attended Wayzata High School located in Plymouth , Minnesota and was a standout in football , baseball and track . In football , he was a SuperPrep and PrepStar All - Midwest and consensus All - State honoree as a senior running back and as a defensive back . During his last season with the Trojans , he amassed 1 , 778 rushing yards with 18 touchdowns and led his team with 10 interceptions ( 3 of which came against Gatorade National Player of the Year and future Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer ) . In baseball , he was an Honorable Mention All - Conference center fielder . In his first and only track season , Barber qualified for the 2001 Minnesota State Class AA Championships in the 100 meters . He finished the season with a 100m time of 10 . 9 seconds . College career . Like his father , he played college football at the University of Minnesota where the coaches originally wanted him to play safety , but after seeing him run , they kept him at running back where he ranks fourth on the school ' s all - time rushing list with 3 , 276 yards , second with 4 , 495 all - purpose yards and second in rushing touchdowns with 35 , one better than his father , Marion Barber Jr . . He also teamed up since his sophomore year with running back Laurence Maroney to form one of the best duo backs in the college football , becoming the first teammates in Division I ( NCAA ) history to each rush for 1 , 000 yards in consecutive seasons . He was an All - Big Ten selection in 2003 as a red shirt sophomore . Professional career . Dallas Cowboys . 2005 . After forgoing his senior season , he was selected in the fourth round ( 109th overall ) of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys . A toe infection that required surgery and some preseason fumbles left him at the bottom of the depth chart . An injury to Julius Jones and the ineffectiveness of Anthony Thomas allowed Barber to emerge , and he responded with 95 yards rushing against Seattle and 127 yards against Arizona . Along with his pass - blocking and special teams abilities , this solidified his position as the backup running back for the Cowboys . 2006 . Barber found a niche as a third - down rusher and emerged as an excellent red - zone rusher . He led the NFC with 14 rushing touchdowns in 2006 . Barber finally established his role and ability as a power back . 2007 . Entering the 2007 NFL regular season , many Dallas fans called for Cowboys coach Wade Phillips to name Barber the starting tailback . However , Phillips continued to utilize the " running back by committee , " sharing the load with Cowboys starting running back Julius Jones . This approach was instituted by former coach Bill Parcells . Jim Johnson , the Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator , called Barber the hardest running back in the NFL to bring down . During the 2007 season , Barber ' s power running back style earned him the nickname Marion the Barbarian and he was the league leader in breaking tackles , reflecting his personal mantra of " hit or get hit . " Barber rushed for 975 yards on 204 carries and 10 rushing touchdowns with a 4 . 8 yards - per - carry rushing average . He caught 44 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns . On December 18 , 2007 , he was named to his first Pro Bowl despite officially being a backup . Barber received the start in the divisional playoff loss to the New York Giants . 2008 . Dallas offered Barber , now as an unquestionable starter to the team , the highest tender as a restricted free agent . On May 20 , 2008 , he signed a seven - year deal , $ 45 million with the Cowboys with $ 16 million guaranteed . 2009 . The emergence of Tashard Choice and Felix Jones , and injury problems limited his success during the 2009 season . However , he played in 15 games despite a torn quadriceps muscle . 2010 . Barber had a disappointing 2010 season as the entire Cowboys team struggled from game one . In 13 games Barber rushed for 374 yards on 113 carries for a 3 . 3 yard per carry average , the lowest of his career . His 4 rushing touchdowns were also the lowest of his career . Chicago Bears . 2011 . Barber was released by Dallas on July 28 , 2011 . On July 30 , 2011 , the Bears signed Barber to a two - year , $ 5 million contract . Barber beat out Chester Taylor ( as Chester Taylor got cut ) for the Chicago Bears ' 2nd string Running Back position after Matt Forte . On August 27 in the third pre - season game , Barber hurt his calf muscle and missed the first three games of the regular season due to the injury . In Week 14 against the Denver Broncos , replacing an injured Matt Forté , Barber scored a touchdown and had his first 100 yard game since 2009 after suffering a muscle injury . More infamous , however , were a pair of gaffes made late in the game . With under two minutes left in regulation he was forced out of bounds by D . J . Williams , giving the Broncos time to score a 59 - yard game - tying field goal by Matt Prater with 3 seconds left . Then , early in the overtime period , Barber lost a fumble that gave the Broncos possession to win on a 51 - yard field goal . In the 2011 season Barber had 422 yards on 114 carries . Following the 2011 season , Barber announced his retirement from the NFL on March 23 , 2012 .