The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are well positioned heading into the 2024 NFL offseason. They are projected to have the 10th most cap space in the league with well over $43 million, a healthy number that will allow them to be buyers in free agency.
However, that number is reportedly going to grow even more. According to Adam Schefter, via Jenna Laine of ESPN, the Buccaneers are planning to release outside linebacker Shaq Barrett. The move will save Tampa Bay about $5 million on the salary cap.
It was a move that Barrett had been expecting. He was due an option worth $15.04 million in March that carried a massive cap hit. Staying with the Buccaneers would have been his preference, but he acknowledged that this is a business at the end of the day and understood that.
The Buccaneers have opted to designate Barrett as a post-June 1st cut. That means his $26.67 million in dead cap will be split between 2024 and 2025 instead of being one lump sum this year. As a result, he will count $9.27 million against the cap this year and the remaining $17.47 will be next year.
NFL News & Rumors: Shaquil Barrett, 2024 NFL Free Agency, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Updates
The nine-year veteran was a game changer at times for Tampa Bay’s defense. He recorded an NFL-high 19.5 sacks in his first season with the team, finishing fourth in the Defensive Player of the Year voting while making the Pro Bowl and All-Pro Second Team.
The following season, he was key in the Buccaneers’ run to the Lombardi Trophy. He recorded three sacks in the NFC Championship Game against the Green Bay Packers and another sack in the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Alas, the last two seasons have been tough for Barrett on and off the field. He has recorded only 7.5 sacks in 24 games as he plays with a heavy heart. In 2023, Barrett and his family suffered through a tragedy when their two-year-old daughter, Arrayah, drowned in the family pool.
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