Two-time Super Bowl champion and former All-Pro linebacker Shaq Barrett has requested his return to play immediately after previously announcing his retirement from the NFL in July, according to ESPN. However, that doesn’t mean he’s guaranteed to play this year.
Barrett is contractually beholden to the Miami Dolphins, who own his rights. NFL Media reports that the Dolphins have elected not to activate Barrett off the reserve/retired list, meaning he will not play for Miami this season. The Dolphins also have no intention of releasing him, meaning Barrett cannot play for another franchise as teams prepare to advance to the playoffs.
Given this development, it’s worth revisiting Barrett’s comments on “Up & Adams” in late August, where he told host Kay Adams that the only way out of retirement would be to rejoin the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I wouldn’t do it in any other setting or any other team or anything like that,” Barrett said at the time. “I have a lot of history down there.”
Barrett played five seasons for Tampa Bay until he was released last March. The Bucs are currently 5-6 on the season, but are lurking behind the Atlanta Falcons (6-5) in the NFC South, although they lost the head-to-head tiebreaker.
For his career, Barrett has totaled 400 total tackles and 59 sacks in 131 regular-season games. Last season, he played in 16 games for the Buccaneers and had 52 tackles and 4.5 sacks.
