Shaquil Barrett | EDGE | Age: 27
Adding to the pass rush is an objective Chris Ballard will try to achieve every offseason, regardless of the state of the unit. Coming off of an insane career season in 2019, Barrett is going to get the bag. He had 19.5 sacks, 37 quarterback hits and 19 tackles for loss. He had more sacks and quarterback hits in one season with Tampa Bay than he did in his entire career with Denver.
There is certainly a chance Barrett figured something out with his game or finally found the right fit schematically. But his outlier of a season could see him net roughly $15–16 million per year on the open market. Even with some help needed at the pass rush, the Colts shouldn’t take that risk.
Barrett never had a season with more than 5.5 sacks. Regression is surely coming for the 27-year-old. Since 2005, only four players have had more than two seasons with at least 14 sacks—only two of which came within a four-year span. Barrett probably won’t be added to that list, and the Colts shouldn’t get caught up in overpaying after one elite season.