The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense held Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan in check in Week 12 as the Bucs downed the red-hot Falcons on the road, 35-22.
And, once again, at the center of all the defensive action was Bucs linebacker Shaq Barrett, who finished the day with a sack and five quarterback hits. Barrett, who signed a one-year deal in the offseason with the Bucs, now has 12.5 sacks on the year, tied with Chandler Jones of the Arizona Cardinals for the league lead.
Barrett has already matched Jason Pierre-Paul’s sack total from last season, when he became the first Buccaneer since Simeon Rice in 2005 to record double-digit sacks in a single season.
The stellar play of Barrett has not only earned him the respect and admiration of his teammates and Bucs fans everywhere, but, according to Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com, it’s earned the soon-to-be free agent a big day, too. Rosenthal listed Barrett at No. 1 on his list of free agents who have made themselves money this season.
Here’s his explanation:
“Bucs outside linebacker Shaq Barrett’s monster performance against the Falcons’ Jake Matthews on Sunday was a reminder that Barrett has mostly maintained his scorching start to the season. Barrett had a sack, a pass defensed, a forced fumble, four more quarterback hits and five hurries, according to Pro Football Focus, in addition to forcing a few backbreaking penalties by Matthews. Signed to a one-year contract worth up to $5 million before this season, Barrett will be a strong candidate for the franchise tag.”
The Bucs have a lot of big question marks they’ll have to face at the end of the season, namely, what to do with quarterback Jameis Winston. Retaining Barrett’s services, though, whether through a long-term contract or the franchise tag, should be their top priority.
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