Here’s what new Dolphins LB Shaq Barrett’s contract looks like.
The Miami Dolphins needed some help on the edge this offseason with Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb recovering from season-ending injuries and Andrew Van Ginkel joining the Minnesota Vikings.
Miami added some veteran talent to the position early in free agency by bringing in Shaq Barrett.
According to NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe, Barrett’s deal is for one year (with four voidable years on the end) and is worth up to $9 million. He’ll receive a $7 million base salary ($1.46 million guaranteed), a $5.54 million signing bonus (prorated to $1.11 million per season due to void years) and $250,000 in per-game roster bonuses.
Considering the financial commitment, Barrett’s a lock to make the roster in 2024, but when the year is over the remainder of the prorated signing bonus ($4.43 million) will be left as a dead-cap hit in 2025 unless he’s extended.
It was New York all the way for Shaq Barrett…until it wasn’t.
The Jets have a hole to fill in the defensive end rotation after losing 2023 sack leader Bryce Huff to the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency. The team thought they had found a potential replacement later in free agency before a division rival scooped him up from under their nose.
Shaq Barrett, formerly of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, told Zach Gelb on CBS Sports Radio he felt very sure he was landing with the Jets in free agency before the Miami Dolphins swooped in and snatched him up.
“My agent was talking to me about potentially going to New York and it was New York all the way up until…the day I ended up agreeing to terms with the Dolphins and they came out of left field,” Barrett said.
“I loved the prospect of going to New York but the Dolphins, they’re just more established as a team, they’re more proven at this point and they got some good guys in my pass-rush room, so I was looking forward to partnering up with those guys.”
Barrett also mentioned the lack of state tax in Florida as a reason he quickly shifted to the Dolphins.
While Barrett’s sack numbers are down in comparison to other years — Barrett has sack totals of 8, 10, 3 and 4.5 in the four seasons since his 19.5-sack season in 2019 — he will still provide a good rotational piece for Miami and would have done the same for New York had he joined the Jets. Barrett also recorded at least 50 tackles in four of his five seasons with the Buccaneers.
The Jets are currently rolling with a rotation of Jermaine Johnson, Micheal Clemons and Will McDonald among others at the position but are still in the mix to sign Jadeveon Clowney, who had 9.5 in 2023 for the Baltimore Ravens.
The Miami Dolphins entered the offseason with a hole on the edge due to Andrew Van Ginkel’s impending departure (eventually signing with the Minnesota Vikings) and the duo of Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb recovering from injuries that ended their 2023 season earlier.
To fill that need, Miami signed veteran outside linebacker Shaq Barrett, who landed with the aqua and orange after playing collegiately at Omaha (2010) and Colorado State (2011-13) before becoming a Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion for the Denver Broncos (2014-16) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2019-23).
As Dolphins fans familiarize themselves with the team’s newest edge rusher, we’ve put together a gallery of photos from his time in Denver and Tampa Bay.
The Miami Dolphins needed to sign an impact free agent on the edge with Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb recovering from season-ending injuries and Andrew Van Ginkel hitting the market (and eventually signing with the Minnesota Vikings).
General manager Chris Grier and head coach Mike McDaniel may have found exactly the guy to fill in as a starter at the beginning of the season and become a rotational piece as Phillips and Chubb return when they signed Shaq Barrett.
Barrett had 59 career sacks during his time with the Denver Broncos and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, including one season that he led the league in the statistic, recording 19.5 in 2019. He’s also made two Pro Bowls and helped both Denver and Tampa Bay win Super Bowls during his nine-year career.
What is it about the Dolphins that attracted the 31-year-old?
“The team that they have here, the potential to get the job done, to go on a run and be hoisting the trophy at the end of the year,” Barrett told members of the South Florida media in his introductory availability. “And then the group of guys that they’ve got in the outside linebacker room is a great group of guys. I would love to be a part of that and I know they’re hurting and nursing injuries right now, so my role may be just to hold it down until they come back and then become a well-oiled machine when everyone gets back. I’m just ready for whatever my role is and just to help take this team and defense to the next level.”
Grier and McDaniel have put together a competitive roster full of talented players, and while they lost quite a bit this offseason in free agency, they’ve been able to fill some holes with veterans on inexpensive, short-term deals to try and capitalize on this window.
If they can’t do it now, the team may have to do a full reset in the near future, but they’re hoping it’s additions like Barrett’s that can take them to the next level.
Now with the Miami Dolphins, veteran pass rusher Shaq Barrett clearly has a chip on his shoulder after being cut by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers moved on from veteran pass rusher Shaq Barrett this offseason, saving some salary cap space and opening up opportunities for younger players to get more reps at outside linebacker in 2024.
Barrett signed a one-year deal with the Miami Dolphins after being let go by the Bucs, and it’s clear he’s got a chip on his shoulder after Tampa Bay decided to release him.
“A lot to prove,” Barrett said this week (via Joe Schad, Palm Beach Post). “Especially getting cut from another team like that, adds another whole fuel to the fire right there. And I’m like, Dolphins gonna’ be happy they signed me. Tampa gonna’ be mad they let me go.”
Matthew Hinton-USA TODAY Sports
Barrett was a cheap signing on a one-year deal by the Bucs back in 2019, and he responded by leading the NFL with 19.5 sacks, getting the franchise tag and eventually a long-term contract extension from Tampa Bay. He was a key piece of the Bucs’ championship team in 2020, including a dominant performance against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV.
After a torn Achilles ended his 2022 season prematurely, Barrett simply wasn’t the same player last season. Set to turn 32 years old this season, the Bucs obviously wanted to go with younger, cheaper options at the position.
That being the case, Barrett is clearly hoping to make Tampa Bay regret that decision with a bounce-back campaign in Miami this year.
The Dolphins are set to add a proven, veteran edge rusher.
The Miami Dolphins entered this offseason with a need for help on the edge with Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb recovering from serious injuries and Andrew Van Ginkel hitting the market (now expected to sign with the Minnesota Vikings).
Barrett, 31, was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Denver Broncos in 2014 following a collegiate career at Omaha and Colorado State, where he was the MWC Defensive Player of the Year in his final season.
He spent his first five seasons with the Broncos, helping the team win Super Bowl 50 over the Carolina Panthers. After leaving Denver, he joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and helped them win Super Bowl 55 over the Kansas City Chiefs.
In his nine professional seasons, Barrett has made two Pro Bowls and has recorded 400 tackles (73 for a loss), 125 quarterback hits, 59 sacks, 22 forced fumbles, 18 passes defensed, five fumble recoveries and three interceptions.
His veteran presence is a huge boost to a locker room that’s set to lose many leaders on the defensive side of the ball.
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers outside linebacker Shaq Barrett is planning to sign with the Miami Dolphins when NFL free agency officially opens up Wednesday, per Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report.
A two-time Super Bowl champion and former All-Pro, Barrett has 59 career sacks, and was a key member of Tampa Bay’s championship team back in 2020. He also led the NFL with 19.5 sacks in 2019.
Barrett saw a dip in his production last season after coming off a torn Achilles, but he won’t have to move far to play for his new team in South Florida.
Breaking down the outlook for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at outside linebacker heading into 2024
2023 was a transitional year for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ edge defenders.
Veteran Shaq Barrett returned from an Achilles injury. Joe Tryon-Shoyinka entered a pivotal third season. Tampa Bay added rookies YaYa Diaby and Markees Watts. While they were one of the least productive edge rushing groups in the NFL, the Bucs’ outside linebackers did give the team a road map heading into the 2024 offseason.
As is typical with Achilles injuries, Barrett’s clearly had an impact on his burst and overall effectiveness as a pass rusher in 2023. He recorded just 49 total pressures per Pro Football Focus, his least in a full season in a Bucs uniform. At 31 years old, the likelihood that Barrett will fully regain his pass rush effectiveness is low.
Tampa Bay’s original 2023 starter opposite Shaq Barrett, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, needed a big season to prove himself a viable starter. With just five sacks and 26 total pressures in 2023 per PFF, Tryon-Shoyinka does not appear to be the next marquee edge rusher in Tampa Bay.
The Bucs coaching staff apparently came to that conclusion around Week 13 when they replaced him in the starting lineup with 2023 third-round pick YaYa Diaby. The rookie earned the starting job with impressive play against both the run and pass. He led the team with 7.5 sacks, which was also third-most among all rookies, and was second on the team with 12 tackles for a loss, which led all rookies.
Diaby will no doubt start the 2024 season. The question is who will start opposite him.
Finding a starting edge rusher in free agent is rarely an inexpensive proposition. Tampa Bay does not have a ton of flexibility to bring in a free agent as they make efforts to bring back their own players like Mike Evans, Baker Mayfield and Antoine Winfield Jr.
Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
The Bucs will have to approach the free agent edge rush market like they did when they signed Shaq Barrett in 2019, forgoing the top of the market to find value deep in the free agent class. Veterans like Markus Golden and Yannick Ngakoue are not every-down players but would make useful additions to Tampa Bay’s edge rotation, particularly as pass rushers.
The draft is where the Bucs will be looking to truly upgrade their outside linebacker room. With the 26th overall pick, they will likely miss on the premiere edge prospects like Dallas Turner, Jared Verse and Laiatu Latu, who is probably the best fit for Tampa Bay given their immediate need for pass rush help. A trade-up would likely be needed to grab the UCLA edge rusher.
Barring a trade-up, the Bucs will have Penn State’s Chop Robinson and Adisa Isaac, Kansas’ Austin Booker and Alabama’s Chris Braswell in range of their picks in the first and second rounds. None would likely be full-time starters come Week 1, but they would be slated for major contributions in 2024 and beyond.
The Broncos drafted Bradley Chubb over Josh Allen in 2018, a move that Chris Harris still doesn’t understand.
After moving on from Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch in 2017, the Denver Broncos went into the 2018 offseason in search of a quarterback.
Then-general manager/executive VP of football operations John Elway signed Case Keenum during free agency in March. One month later, the Broncos held the fifth overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft.
After signing Keenum, Denver passed on Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen at No. 5 to instead select NC State edge defender Bradley Chubb. Allen went off the board two picks later to the Buffalo Bills.
Chubb, a two-time Pro Bowler, totaled 26 sacks in four and a half seasons with the Broncos before being traded to the Miami Dolphins in 2022. Allen, also a two-time Pro Bowler, has helped the Bills reach the playoffs in each of the last five seasons.
In hindsight, passing on Allen was a terrible decision by the Broncos, one that former cornerback Chris Harris still can’t believe.
One year after Denver drafted Chubb, the team let Shaq Barrett walk in free agency. He went on to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019 and he totaled 19.5 sacks in his first season. Barrett has recorded 45 sacks over the last five seasons with the Bucs.
Harris certainly isn’t alone in his bewilderment, although some Broncos fans think Allen would not have developed into the QB he is today had he landed in Denver.
Since the arrival of Todd Bowles, the Buccaneers defense has been a consistently strong group powered by a stout run defense and aggressive blitz packages. This year, the consistency of the unit has not been as evident, as the Bucs have allowed the fifth-most pass yards (2235) in the league at the halfway point, despite already having their bye in Week 5.
Tampa Bay’s defense has largely survived off high leverage plays, forcing 15 turnovers, and being one of the best red zone defenses in the league. Much of their struggles have stemmed from soft zone coverage, leading to more big plays than are typical with a Bowles defense.
The talent from the Bucs’ Super Bowl run is still mostly on the roster, but the consistency is not. With an offense diminished by roster attrition and a rookie playcaller, the defense has so far been unsuccessful in keeping the team afloat in a winnable NFC South.
Here are the midseason grades for the Bucs’ 2023 defense:
