Cowboys say former running back Marion Barber dead at 38
Marion Barber III, the former Dallas Cowboys running back who scored plenty of touchdowns without recording a 1,000-yard season, has died, the team said Wednesday.
Barber played a final season with Chicago in 2011 after spending his first six years with the Cowboys.
He had issues with mental health after his career.
Police in the Dallas suburb of Frisco said Wednesday they made a welfare check at an apartment “believed to be leased” by Barber and were investigating an unattended death there.
The Cowboys, who have their headquarters in Frisco, said they were “heartbroken by the tragic death of Marion Barber III.”
“Marion was an old-school, hard-nosed football player who ran with the will to win every down,” the team said.
He had a passion for the game and love for his coaches and teammates.
Barber’s father, Marion Barber Jr., played seven seasons with the New York Jets in the 1980s.
The younger Barber is fourth on Dallas’ career list for rushing touchdowns with 47 after getting passed in 2021 by two-time NFL rushing champion Ezekiel Elliott.