It's been a whirlwind of a season for former Tampa Bay Buccaneers pass rusher Shaq Barrett, and he hasn't even played a single down.
Back in February the Bucs released Barrett to save cap space, which led to him landing with the Miami Dolphins in free agency. It was a short-lived stay, though, as Barrett announced his retirement a few months later which seemed to be the end of his story.
In November, Barrett decided he wanted to come out of retirement and play this season for a playoff contender, which was complicated by the Dolphins holding his rights. Miami refused to release him, which would have allowed Barrett to potentially join a team that the Dolphins were competing against for a playoff spot, and the move blocked a potential reunion with the Bucs.
That obstacle now appears to have been cleared. With the Dolphins mathematically still alive but logically eliminated from the playoffs, it seems Barrett will finally get his wish.
Buccaneers have a clear path to reuniting with Shaq Barrett
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Dolphins are finally waiving Barrett which will allow him to sign with a new team just in time for the playoffs. There's still some red tape to cut through, though, as there's no guarantee that Barrett will be eligible for a postseason roster.
Barrett must first clear waivers, as a team claiming him would essentially block his eligibility to play in the playoffs. Since that doesn't make any sense, the chances he reaches free agency seem pretty high, which could clear a path for a potential reunion in Tampa Bay.
The Bucs have been absolutely hammered by bad injury luck so far this season. Every single key player has missed some amount of time, with the defense getting hit particularly hard. Both Christian Izien and SirVocea Dennis are on IR, Antoine Winfield Jr. is out for an indefinite amount of time, and Jordan Whitehead is working his way back from a pectoral injury. Things have been dire at linebacker with K.J. Britt and J.J. Russell both missing time recently which has put a massive strain on depth.
We could be living in a world on Sunday where the Bucs are fighting to stay alive in the playoff race with Ryan Neal and Kaveon Merriweather starting at safety -- that's not great. Still, Todd Bowles has managed to weather the storm as best he can, and while the results haven't been perfect they Bucs remain alive.
Adding Barrett makes a ton of sense on paper, but it's yet to be seen if that reunion will happen. Tampa Bay has lacked any sort of pass rush presence ever since Barrett was released as a cap casualty last offseason, and bringing him back would be a more natural fit than if he went elsewhere.
That being said, the Bucs aren't as high on the list of contenders as some other fits like Baltimore, Kansas City, or Buffalo. All of those places would require a lower lift from Barrett and higher championship upside.
We'll see what ends up happening, but at the very least Barrett is finally free from a prickly situation with the Dolphins and has a clear path to chasing one final Super Bowl in his career.
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