Tiki Barber has taken a giant step to return to football, but it won’t be for the Giants.
Barber, who stopped playing for the Giants after the 2006 season, filed papers Tuesday with the NFL to come out of retirement.
“After seeing how much fun (twin brother) Ronde is still having, it reignited my fire and I’m looking forward to the challenge of seeing if I can get back to the level of where I was,” Barber told FOXSports.com.
The Giants said in a statement that they would relinquish Barber’s rights as soon as they are able, according to ProFootballTalk.com.
“We wish Tiki nothing but the best, and when we are able to make the transaction, we will release him from our reserve/retired list,” the statement read.
The NFL is negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement and no roster moves can be made until a deal is in place.
Barber’s return was announced on Twitter by his management agency, Maxx Talent.
“He has officially filed his papers with the league,” Barber’s manager, Mark Lepselter, told The Post. “The Giants do retain his rights, and we’ll see where the chips fall.
Asked what spurred Barber’s desire to return to playing, Lepselter said, “Tiki contemplated this for the past month or so. … And he made the decision this past Friday to do this.”
Barber, 36 in April, announced in October 2006 he would retire at the end of that season, saying he was bored with the game and wanted leave without serious injury.
He gained 1,662 yards that season, the second-highest total of his career, with 234 yards in his final regular-season game. He finished with 10,449 yards total, 19th on the all-time NFL list at the time (he is now 22nd).
He had clashed at times with Giants head coach Tom Coughlin and was critical of him and quarterback Eli Manning while working in the media.
In Barber’s first season away, the Giants won Super Bowl XLII.
Since leaving the Giants as their all-time leading rusher, Barber worked for NBC on “Football Night in America” and “Today.” He most recently contributed to Yahoo! Sports.
“I started working out again recently. It kind of shocked myself,” Barber told FOXSports.com. “I still had a lot of the strength I had before. I’m really looking forward to making a return.”
Barber, who last week was spotted having breakfast at the Regency Hotel with fellow former Giants great Michael Strahan, is in the midst of a pending divorce from Ginny Barber, his wife of more than a decade.
The estranged couple has four children, including twins who were born after their split last year.
Ronde Barber recently signed a contract extension with the Buccaneers to return for a 15th season.
Without a new collective bargaining agreement, the 2011 season may not be played.