Shaquil Barrett Up For A Payday In Free Agency, Hopes To Stay In Tampa Bay

By Jordan Long

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished the season at 7-9.  One of the bright spots in their record was the defense.  Their top defensive players, Shaquil Barrett is a free agent.

                Barrett finished his 5^th year in the NFL and 1^st  in Tampa Bay.  He spent the previous 4 years in Denver where he learned to be a pro from Von Miller.  He left Denver after the 2018 season because he wanted to be a starter.    He didn’t feel Denver was the place that was going to give him that opportunity. 

Barrett bet on himself taking a 1-year $1 million contract with Tampa Bay.  He was able to pressure the quarterback and take them down, ending in a league leading 19.5 sacks.  Barrett also knocked the football out of the hands of the quarterback with 6 forced fumbles.

                Tampa Bay didn’t just use him to pressure quarterbacks, but he was in pass coverage.  Barrett tipped passes away from being caught with 2 passes defended.  He came away with 1 interception.      

Now that Barrett is a free agent, there will be teams calling him.  Franchises want a linebacker who can blitz and take down the quarterback.  Those change the course of the game, especially field position.   Sacks by Barrett can knock opponents out of field goal range or push them back near their own goal line, forcing the punts to be inside the ten or in the endzone.  This can create a decent field for the offense.

Barrett knows he will be in high demand during free agency.  He would like to stay in Tampa Bay and is willing to take  a discount to stay, but a contract with the Buccaneers may not happen.  According to CBSsports.com, Barrett said, “If [other teams] offer me more than Tampa, I’m going to look at the places, if they offer me more than Tampa, I’m going to look at what their taxes is compared to Tampa’s. Because I ain’t going to live in L.A. and get taxed crazy. I’m not going to take drastically less but I am open to doing what I think is best for my career, and I think that would be staying in Tampa.”

                Barrett may receive a contract in free agency worth anywhere between $10 to 15 million from some franchises.  That would be a lot to say no to.  Barrett is going to take his time once NFL free agency opens up on March 18^th.  He will decide where the best place is to keep playing in the NFL even if it is back to Tampa Bay.