Buccaneers catch big break after tablet with team’s playbook stolen from player’s car

Buccaneers running back Peyton Barber had multiple items stolen from his vehicle over the weekend while visiting a friend in Atlanta. 

Police told WSB-TV that a group of men in the Buckhead-area ransacked Barber’s Jeep early Saturday morning and left with multiple items, including a team-issued tablet that most players use to study their playbook. Barber wasn’t in his vehicle when the robbery took place around 5 a.m. 

Although it would have been potentially disastrous for the Bucs if someone got a hold of the team’s playbook, Tampa actually caught a break in this case. According to Pro Football Talk, Barber’s tablet didn’t have any portion of the team’s playbook due to the fact that the Bucs had just made a coaching change. The old playbook was removed from the tablet after Dirk Koetter was fired and the new playbook still hadn’t been installed. 

Due to that fact, the tablet didn’t really contain anything of “much importance,” according to the Buccaneers. 

“We were able to remotely disable the Surface tablet once we were informed,” the team told WSB. “There was no playbook info on the computer, just some self scout videos.” 

As for Barber, the tablet wasn’t the only thing he lost in the robbery. The Buccaneers running back also had his passport, and some designer sunglasses stolen, along with some clothing. Barber called police around 9:50 a.m. on Saturday after he noticed that his passenger door was ajar. The running back also noticed some damage to the rear window on the driver’s side of his vehicle. 

The 23-year-old, who originally signed with the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 2016, has close ties to Atlanta. Barber attended high school roughly 25 miles north of the city. Barber finished the 2018 season as the Tampa’s leading rusher with 871 yards.