Shaq Barrett: 'It Was A No-Brainer To Come Back Here'

There was a time when it felt like Shaq Barrett had put on a Bucs uniform for the final time.

Now, Shaq is back.

After being released by the Bucs in the offseason, signing with the Dolphins, retiring, unretiring, being granted his release from the Dolphins and passing through waivers, Barrett is back in Tampa Bay for whatever is left of the team’s season. And the Barrett that is back in the Buccaneer locker room now is a fresher one, according to the man himself.

“I’m just taking it all back in,” Barrett said Thursday. “I feel like a rookie again, remotivated, rejuvenated and just happy to be part of the team and trying to make a run to the playoffs.”

Barrett said he began to hear from his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, about two or three weeks ago that there were teams interested in brining him in for their playoff pushes. Among those teams were the current top two seeds in the NFC, the Lions and Eagles. But the Bucs began to show interest a little later, and everything ended up working out for a reunion.

Back in August, Barrett appeared on Up & Adams with Kay Adams and hinted that the Bucs would be the only team he’d come back out of retirement to play for. That line of thinking eventually changed, Barrett said Thursday, but being able to come back to Tampa proved to be a little sweeter.

“Initially that’s what I said, but now once I got an opportunity and somebody wanted me to come play for them, yeah I’d just go play for anybody who wanted me at that point,” he said. “But it’s so much sweeter to be able to come back here to home with the guys that I know already. The playbook is hard, but it’s some plays that I know. So it’s not as hard to re-learn everything. … It was a no-brainer to come back here. A no-brainer.”

What Brought Shaq Barrett Back – And For How Long Is He Back?

The fourth-leading sacker in Bucs history said in August that he was happily retired, so what changed? It ultimately boiled down to the time away allowing him to reset. Not to mention, the fact that he was given an opportunity to play again also helped.

“Honestly, if nobody would’ve called me, I would’ve never came back out of retirement,” Barrett said. “But once I was watching it and just being away from it, I was able to reset, refresh and I just felt refueled and ready. Like, if the opportunity comes, I’m ready. For football – like, if I would’ve played this year originally with the Dolphins, I wasn’t all the way 100% in. And if you’re not 100% in, you’re not gonna be good to anybody.

“That’s why I took the time away. Which, if I knew I needed time away, I would’ve just took time away. I thought I was done with football. But having that time away helped me find a love for the game again. That’s what helped bring me back.”

So, with Barrett only signing one day before the Bucs’ Week 17 win over the Panthers, he’s only guaranteed this Sunday’s game against the Saints to make a return to action. If Tampa Bay wins, he’ll then look to help the team make a run in the postseason. But is that it, or is Shaq Barrett back in football for good?

“This is a this year thing and then [this] offseason, [I’ll] hit it really hard and be probably the best I’ve been in a long time for next year,” he said. “So, yeah, I’m planning on playing until, not forever, but at least another two, three years.”

That’s a far cry from being done with the game, and there’s no telling what the future will hold for Barrett and the Bucs. But for now, the 32-year-old is feeling good and is ready to help however the team would like him to on Sunday afternoon.

“Physically, I’m feeling good right now. Depending on what the coaches and the trainers recommend, I think I’ll be able to get out there and get a couple of plays,” Barrett said. “I don’t know what they’re thinking right now, but whatever they think, I’m on board for. I’ve been training for the last… I had three months off, then I’ve been training for the last month or so. So I’m in a good spot. I’m nowhere near close to like a full game, not yet.”

Barrett said he has been in contact with his position group during his time away, as they still have a group chat. But as far as what has caught his attention about the 2024 Bucs as he’s watched from afar? It’s the team’s offense, which ranks among the league’s best.

“What I was thinking when I was watching, like ‘dang, I would love to play with an offense like we got right now.’ Get the points up on the board, then offenses got to try to match and can’t throw quick passes the whole game,” Barrett said. “So there’s some opportunities out there that I want to try to be able to take advantage of and so is the rest of the guys in the room. We just need to get as healthy as we can because that’s been a problem for us this year.”

What Can Shaq Barrett Bring To The Bucs In Week 18 And Beyond?

Time will tell what type of impact Shaq Barrett can have in such a short amount of time for this Bucs team, but there’s reason to believe he still has something left in the tank. He led the team in pressure rate and total pressures last year, and none of the top four sackers on this year’s defense is an outside linebacker. The Bucs haven’t gotten enough pressure off the edge, and if he can offer some even on a rotational basis, that can help.

“We thought he could add extra pass rush for sure,” head coach Todd Bowles said Wednesday. “We thought he could add extra knowledge. We had trouble getting to the passer from the outside earlier. We thought he had a lot of juice left in the tank to help us to make a run. The communication between me and Jason [Licht] was there the whole time. It was just a matter of Miami doing something so that we had a chance to try and get him.”

Barrett was inactive for last Sunday’s 48-14 win over the Panthers, but inside linebackers coach/pass game coordinator Larry Foote joked Thursday that the veteran already had an impact, as outside linebackers Anthony Nelson, Yaya Diaby and Chris Braswell notched three of the defense’s five sacks in the game.

“Well, he’s already having impact,” Foote said. “I’ve been joking with the outside linebackers, ‘Shaq back, and you guys lit up the sack board last week.’ But it’s just good to see him out there, just veteran presences. Young guys are going to learn a lot from him, but it’s good seeing him out there. [He’s] still kind of getting used to the No. 56, I know a couple years – the No. 58 isn’t too far off. I said, ‘Who’s the most famous No. 56’. He did know who Lawrence Taylor was.”

No. 58, No. 7, No. 56 – no matter the number, the Bucs are happy to have Shaq Barrett back.