Tampa Bay Buccaneers add much needed pass rushing help

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed 26-year-old pass rusher Shaquil Barrett, formerly a member of the Denver Broncos, to a one-year deal.

Around 2:00pm EST today, it was announced that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had signed pass rusher Shaquil Barrett to a one-year deal to bolster their front seven defensively. The deal is worth $4 million as the base salary, with an extra million dollars in incentives.

The Buccaneers continue to stretch a dollar as far as they can as they continue to sign quality players at a bargain price to improve their roster. Barrett has spent the entirety of his career to this point with the Denver Broncos before vowing to seek out more than just a rotational role at his next destination.

Used predominantly as a situational pass rusher and as a rotational player to Von Miller and Bradley Chubb in Denver, Barrett comes to Tampa Bay figuring to see more playing time than ever before in his career. With Jason Pierre-Paul as the only player on the Buccaneers’ defense a year ago with double-digit sacks, another added contributor is a nice bonus.

At just 26 years old, Barrett still has plenty left in his tank and the tread on his tires is barely worn as he was underutilized in Denver. He has tallied 14 sacks, 25 tackles for loss, and hit the quarterback an enormous 35 times in four seasons after never playing a down as an undrafted rookie in 2014.

Look for Barrett to play the role of 3-4 outside linebacker in Todd Bowles’ defensive scheme, a position that Barrett has played his entire career. The defensive front now looks to consist of Barrett, Pierre-Paul, Vita Vea, Gerald McCoy Carl Nassib, and Noah Spence all splitting reps, an attacking five that could do some damage if Bowles can unlock the limitless potential of the group.

Tampa Bay is hoping that with fulltime reps, Barrett will be able to get after the quarterback and compliment Pierre-Paul well as the Bucs have playoff aspirations in 2019. The Pewter Plank welcomes Barrett to Tampa Bay and cannot wait for him to get after opposing quarterbacks.