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Jenna Laine, ESPN Staff Writer
TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers outside linebacker Shaq Barrett told reporters Thursday that his coming out of retirement isn’t just for the Bucs’ playoff run — he wants to continue playing after that for at least another two or three years.
Barrett, who retired from football in July, also said that the NFC’s No. 1 and No. 2 seeded Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles expressed interest in signing him.
“This is a year thing and then off season hit it really hard and be probably the best I’ve been in a long time for next year,” said Barrett, who led the NFL with 19.5 sacks in 2019 and was a member of their Super Bowl LV-winning team.
He is eligible to play at any time and it’s possible that he could suit up in Week 18 at home against the New Orleans Saints, with coach Todd Bowles saying Wednesday that he and his staff are still gauging his readiness.
“There’s retention on the old stuff, but he has a lot of new stuff to learn,” Bowles said. “He ran pretty [well]. Over the weekend, he ran pretty [well]. You don’t know until you put the helmet and pads on.”
Inside linebackers coach and passing game coordinator Larry Foote, who is also a close friend of Barrett’s, said: “Well, he’s already having impact. I’ve been joking with the outside linebackers, ‘Shaq back, and you guys lit up the sack board last week.’ But it’s just good to see him out there, just veteran presences. Young guys are going to learn a lot from him.”
Barrett said he’s been training for the last month after taking three months off to recharge, but is “nowhere near close to full-game ready.”
“Physically I’m feeling good right now and then depending on what the coaches and the trainers recommend, I think I’ll be able to get out there and get a couple plays,” Barrett said. “I don’t know what they’re thinking right now, but whatever they think I’m on-board for.”
He also said his time away helped him rediscover his love for football. He watched all but maybe two Bucs games this season and continued participating in a group chat he had with his position group.
“If I had played this year originally with the Dolphins, I wasn’t all the way 100% in and if you’re not 100% in, you’re not going be good to anybody,” Barrett said. “So that’s why I took the time away, which if I knew I needed time away, I just took time away. I thought I was done with football, but having that time away helped me find a love for the game again and that’s just what helped bring me back.”
Barrett was released by the Bucs this spring and signed with the Dolphins on a one-year deal worth up to $9 million. But in July, he announced his retirement from football. This was after an extremely difficult 2023-24 season in which he lost his 2-year-old daughter Arrayah, who drowned in the family’s pool in April 2023, and is buried in Tampa.
Since then, his family has grown to include another baby daughter, Alannah Ray, who has brought joy to Barrett, his wife Jordanna, and their three other children, Shaquil Jr., Braylon and Aaliyah, as they continue to heal.
“I just spent so much time with my family,” Barrett said, adding with a laugh that his baby Alannah was his “favorite right now.”
“Just having all the time, all the holidays, ain’t had to miss anything. It has just been good. I was just ready to get back here,” said Barrett.
While the Lions and Eagles expressed interest early, the Bucs didn’t enter the picture until later. Barrett, however, called Tampa Bay the “ideal situation.”
Barrett also said he’d have played for the Dolphins, who released him from the reserve/retired list that paved the way for his signing with the Bucs. But he’s particularly excited to be with the Bucs with the way the offense is playing, averaging 28.7 offensive points per game — fourth most in the league and third most in franchise history.
“So what I was thinking when I was watching: ‘Dang, I would love to play with a offense like we got right now,'” Barrett said. “Get the points up on the board and then [the opposing offense] has got to try to match and can’t throw quick passes the whole game. So yeah, there’s some opportunities out there that I want to be able to try to take advantage of and [same] as the rest of the guys in the room. But yeah, we need to get as healthy as we can. That’s been a problem for us this year.
“I’m all hands on deck. I’m ready. I’m 100% in whatever I need to do to be ready. Whatever they want me to do on Sunday, whatever it is, I’m ready for it. Then I got 100% faith in the guys from before and from what I’ve been seeing, watching on Sundays, their capabilities, so I know we going to be able to handle business.”
If the Buccaneers beat the Saints on Sunday they will win the NFC South and clinch a spot in the playoffs.