Buccaneers: More important to re-sign – Shaquil Barrett or Chris Godwin?
A look at Shaquil Barrett’s time with the Buccaneers
Shaquil Barrett came into the league as an undrafted free agent and has never had a long-term deal that a lot of players seek. The longest contract he ever signed was a three year contract but it was only worth $1.54 million over those three years.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Barrett in 2019 on a one-year, $4 million dollar contract. For the first time in his career, Barrett had a reason to ball out – a team finally believed in him. That year, Barrett rewarded the Buccaneers with one interception, six forced fumbles, and 19.5 sacks. He added 58 tackles, with 45 of them being solo, 19 tackles for loss, and 37 quarterback hits.
All of these stats were career numbers for Barrett and his sack total led the entire NFL. His 2019 campaign was good enough to earn him a spot on the Pro Bowl roster. Shaquil Barrett proved to the Bucs that he was worth every penny of that four million dollars.
After his career year, the Buccaneers put Barrett on the franchise tag, which was worth $15.8 million. While he didn’t have as good of a year as he did in 2019, his 2020 campaign was still very impressive.
His most impressive play came in the playoffs, where he got relentless pressure on every opposing quarterback the Buccaneers faced. Barrett paired very well with Jason Pierre-Paul, who was on the opposite side of the defensive line.
Since the Super Bowl victory, Barrett has said that he is ready to “break the bank” when it comes to his next contract. With Barrett being 28 years-old, he is ready to finally have a long-term contract and set his family up with generational wealth. While this may sound selfish, he has earned this right!
Expect Barrett to seek at least a six-year contract, which will get him to the age of 34. Also look for Barrett to try and get a contract like his former teammate, Von Miller. After Miller and the Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50, he got a six-year, $114.5 million dollar contract.
Barrett played against Patrick Mahomes a lot like Miller played against Cam Newton. They both had relentless pressure on the league’s top mobile quarterbacks. While it is not realistic for Barrett to get this type of deal, there will be teams that offer him a deal that’s pretty close to that.