Bucs Release Shaq Barrett

Barrett had one year left on the four-year, $68 million contract that he signed prior to the 2021 season.

Bucs Struck Gold Initially With Shaq Barrett

The Bucs first brought Shaq Barrett in on a one-year, $4 million contract back in 2019 after he left the Denver Broncos. In Denver, he was a rotational backup, logging less than 500 snaps in three of his four seasons. That allowed the Bucs to sign Barrett for a pittance in 2019.

The move immediately paid off as the fifth-year pass rusher logged 82 pressures and led the NFL with 19.5 sacks. The signing was hailed as the off-season free-agent acquisition of the year. Barrett came in 4th in voting for Defensive Player of the Year and was named to the Pro Bowl while also garnering a 2nd team All-Pro nomination.

The Bucs retained Barrett’s services in 2020 via the franchise tag, guaranteeing him $15,828,000 on a one-year pact to see if his 2019 performance was an aberration or something he could keep up. Barrett followed up his career campaign with another 77 pressures, but his sack total fell to eight.

In the playoffs he turned his game up, recording nine tackles, eight quarterback hits, 21 pressures, and four sacks in aiding Tampa Bay to their second Super Bowl in franchise history.

That effort made general manager Jason Licht feel comfortable enough to re-sign Barrett to his current contract. He rewarded Licht initially in 2021 with another double-digit sack (10.0) campaign before tearing his Achilles in week eight of the 2022 season. Barrett returned to play the entire 2023 season but only recorded 56 pressures and 4.5 sacks including the playoffs.

By Releasing Shaq Barrett, Bucs Will Save Some Cap Space With Move

The Bucs do not owe Shaq Barrett any guaranteed cash at this point in his contract, but due to prorated bonuses, they are on the hook for $17,401,000 in dead cap charges that still need to be accounted for.

Pewter Report is reporting that they will be designating his release as a post-June 1st move which means they are allowed to incur those charges over two seasons.

In 2024 they will take on a salary cap charge of $9,267,000 and defer $8,134,000 to 2025. Barrett was due to have a salary cap charge of $14,190,882 if he remained on the roster in 2024 so once the calendar turns to June 2nd, they will net $4,923,882 in savings. For 2025, they will incur a dead cap hit of $17,401,000.

Bucs Will Look To Get More Production From OLB Room

Barrett’s 4.5 sacks were tied for 5th on the team and was 3rd-most among outside linebackers. Rookie Yaya Diaby led the team with 7.5 while fellow outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka came in fourth with 5.0 despite being benched midway through the season.

All told the OLB room accounted for just 22 of the team’s 47 sacks. And none of the team’s edge rushers would qualify as a consistently dominant force.

This has forced head coach Todd Bowles to blitz at a high rate to try and generate even league-average pressure rates rather than choosing to bring the house a lot to amplify pressure. The result has been a pass rush that all too often has failed to get enough pressure on opposing quarterbacks and made things difficult on the back end of the defense to hold up against quarterbacks with high time-to-throw rates.

With the release of Barrett, the team will surely look to bring in new blood that can elevate the pass rush in a way similar to how Barrett was able to in 2019. No matter who they bring in, the team will be hard-pressed to find a better person or personality than the ever-optimistic Barrett.

It was a business move, and one that the veteran pass rusher saw as being likely to happen after the season ended. Still, fans should remember the good memories, including when Barrett recorded ten pressures in the 2020 Super Bowl.