Buccaneers edge rusher Shaq Barrett is under contract for the 2024 season, but he’s not assuming he will be back with the team to play out the final year of his deal.
Barrett had 52 tackles, 4.5 sacks, an interception, and three forced fumbles in his fifth season with the Bucs, which unfolded after the death of his daughter in the spring. Barrett referenced that loss and the support the team showed him while discussing his future with the club on Monday.
“I’ve been around for a minute, and I know with my contract and my production and they have some promising young guys that all factor into it,” Barrett said, via Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times. “But I would still love to be here. It’s like a second home. . . .My kids love it down here. So I mean, understand it’s a business, but after everything that happened this year, we’re family now to appreciate them for everything they did. Just rocking with me, sticking with me through everything and hope it’s not, but I know it is a real possibility. But I hope it’s not.”
Designating Barrett a post-June 1 cut wouldn’t free up much of the $14 million-plus in cap space he’s set to take up in 2024, but the combination of other players at the position and other impending free agents might mean that it’s the end of the line for him in Tampa.
