Back up the Brinks truck!
Questions about the Bucs pass rush arose when Jason Pierre-Paul injured his neck in a wreck while driving his Ferrari in South Florida, during the 2019 offseason. Fans and coaches alike, were left wondering who would step up. Playing behind a former Buc, Noah Spence, for most of camp and preseason, Shaquil “Sack” Barrett answered the call.
Barrett has been on a tear after quarterbacks this season. Shaq tied Warren Sapp’s single season sack record of 16.5 sacks this past weekend against the Detroit Lions. Shaq Barrett signed with the Bucs in the offseason after going undrafted and spending his last four years with the Denver Broncos. While with the Broncos, he was a part time player stuck behind Von Miller, Demarcus Ware and Shane Ray.
Barrett has contributed even more than his sack numbers show. six out of the 16.5 sacks have been strip sacks. Bucs will have to decide whether to play the tag game with him or Winston. After they milked every penny out of the one-year, $4 million dollar contract, look for him to get a multi-year deal, with his average per year likely matching his sack total from this season. We all know that pass rushers do not grow on trees. Well all of us, except Jon Gruden.
While three major questions have been answered, we are still left with some head scratching questions. Tune in next week as we dig deeper into the questions.