The Tampa Bay Buccaneers released edge rusher Shaq Barrett earlier this offseason, and the Miami Dolphins ultimately signed him to a one-year deal in free agency.
Now, Barrett is out to make the Buccaneers regret letting him go.
“I’ve still got a lot to prove,” Barrett said, via Grant Gordon of NFL media. “Especially getting cut from another team. That adds another whole fuel to the fire right there. The Dolphins are going to be happy they signed me. Tampa is going to be mad they let me go because this year that I’m planning on having and the success that we’re about to have as a team is going to be amazing.”
Barrett is coming off of a relatively disappointing 2023 campaign in which he played 16 games and registered 52 tackles, 4.5 sacks, an interception, three forced fumbles and a defensive touchdown.
His ability to rush the passer does not seem to be at the same level anymore, and with Tampa Bay needing to re-sign key pieces like quarterback Baker Mayfield and wide receiver Mike Evans, it opted to cut Barrett.
Barrett, who played his collegiate football at Colorado State, went undrafted and landed with the Denver Broncos in 2015.
He spent the first four years of his career with the Broncos, posting mostly middling results before signing with the Bucs in 2019.
That was when Barrett broke out, as he racked up 58 tackles, 19.5 sacks, a pick and six forced fumbles during his debut campaign in Tampa, earning his first Pro Bowl appearance. He was also named a Second-Team All-Pro and finished fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
Since then, Barrett has posted double-digit sacks just once, doing so in 2021 when he registered 51 tackles, 10 sacks, three forced fumbles and a couple of fumble recoveries.
Perhaps Shaq Barrett can rediscover his prior form in South Beach, or maybe the Buccaneers simply made the correct decision by releasing him.
We’ll find out next season.
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