Shaq Barrett has spent the last five years of his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he thinks his time with the club could be coming to an end.
Barrett is under contract through the end of next season, but he could end up being a cap casualty based on his recent decline and the fact that the Buccaneers may want to get younger at linebacker.
The 31-year-old seems to understand the process.
“I’ve been around for a minute, and I know with my contract and my production and they have some promising young guys that all factor into it,” Barrett said, via Kristie Ackert of The Tampa Bay Times. “But I would still love to be here. It’s like a second home. … My kids love it down here. So I mean, understand it’s a business, but after everything that happened this year, we’re family now to appreciate them for everything they did. Just rocking with me, sticking with me through everything and hope it’s not, but I know it is a real possibility. But I hope it’s not.”
Barrett played in 16 games this season, registering 52 tackles, 4.5 sacks, an interception, three forced fumbles and a defensive touchdown.
The Baltimore native, who played his collegiate football at Colorado State, went undrafted but eventually landed with the Denver Broncos in 2015.
He spent the first four years of his career with the Broncos in a relatively limited role before joining Tampa Bay in 2019. He proceeded to break out in his debut campaign with the Bucs, leading the league with 19.5 sacks to go along with 58 tackles and six forced fumbles.
Barrett has made a pair of Pro Bowl appearances in Tampa, logging double-digit sack totals twice.
However, the last two years, Barrett has amassed just 7.5 sacks, and in 2022, injuries limited him to just eight contests.
If this is the end of the line for Shaq Barrett with the Buccaneers, he certainly enjoyed one heck of a run.
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