Last month, pass rusher Shaq Barrett retired, before his first training camp with the Dolphins even started. Earlier today, he didn’t rule out the possibility of returning to the NFL. With one team in particular. In the unlikely event he returns.
“I’m not returning anywhere,” Barrett said on the Up & Adams show, via JoeBucsFan.com. “I’m happily retired. But if something was going to happen, yeah. . . . I won’t do it for any other scenario or any other team. I have a lot of history down there. All that stuff with my daughter and how they came through for my family. . . . I’d take pay cuts for Tampa. I’d do anything for Tampa for the way they showed up for my family. . . . It meant so much to me.”
Barrett is referring to the accidental drowning of his two-year-old daughter, Arrayah, in April 2023.
In March, Barrett signed a one-year deal worth up to $9 million with the Dolphins. When he retired, the Dolphins placed him on the reserve/retired list. Unless Miami releases his rights, the Bucs would need to negotiate a trade, if they wanted to bring him back to Tampa Bay.
A nine-year veteran, Barrett spent four years with the Broncos and five with the Buccaneers. He won two Super Bowls, in 2015 and 2020. He has 59 career sacks.