Two-time Pro Bowl linebacker Shaq Barrett, who announced his retirement from the NFL in July, has applied to be reinstated to play immediately, agents Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Tuesday.
The Miami Dolphins currently hold Barrett’s contractual rights.
In July, Barrett announced his retirement saying he was “ready to shift my full focus to my wife and kids and helping them realize [their] dreams.”
Barrett had signed a one-year deal with the Dolphins in March after being released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a cost-cutting move.
Barrett, 32, spent five seasons in Tampa, including the 2020 campaign that resulted in a Super Bowl title with quarterback Tom Brady at the helm.
Barrett and his family suffered a tragedy in April 2023 when his 2-year-old daughter, Arrayah, drowned in the family’s pool. He returned for the start of the 2023 season and registered 4.5 sacks and 52 combined tackles, including 33 solo tackles.
An undrafted free agent out of Colorado State in 2015, Barrett has 59 career sacks in nine seasons for the Bucs and the Denver Broncos, with whom he captured his first Super Bowl title in 2015.
He led the NFL with a franchise-record 19.5 sacks in 2019, his first season with Tampa Bay. Barrett reached double-digit sacks in just one other season: 2021, with 10.