Last season, we saw 32-year-old veteran pass rusher Shaquil Barrett ride a roller coaster of availability with the Dolphins and Buccaneers. No such uncertainty will accompany Barrett’s 2025 campaign as his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, claimed today that “he’s definitely going to play this year,” per Mike Florio of NBC Sports. 
A two-time Pro Bowler during his original five-year stint with the Buccaneers, Barrett was predictably released by Tampa Bay as a cap casualty following the 2023 regular season. Deciding to continue his playing career, Barrett signed with the nearby Dolphins, moving about three hours south. Four months later, though, Barrett changed his mind about playing and announced his retirement from the NFL.
At the time of his announcement, the Dolphins left the door open for a potential return for Barrett, and after losing Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb for parts of the 2024 season, it seemed like Barrett returning to the fold could be a big development for Miami. When Barrett applied for reinstatement in late-November, though, the team opted not to accept his application, keeping him on the reserve/retired list and ensuring he would be ineligible to return for the Dolphins in 2024.
Ultimately, with Barrett making it clear that he had desires to return for the 2024 season, the Dolphins made the move to waive him from the reserve/retired list. This transaction left two possibilities: either Barrett would get claimed by a team forcing him to remain on the reserve/retired list for the remainder of the 2024 season or Barrett would clear waivers and have the ability to sign wherever he prefers. There were fears that teams may claim Barrett simply in an attempt to block rival competitors from enlisting Barrett’s services for the final stretch of the season, but ultimately, Barrett went unclaimed.
He ended up signing back with the Buccaneers with two games left in the season. Taking a week to get his bearings back in Tampa Bay, Barrett appeared in the team’s regular season finale, playing just under 20 percent of the team’s defensive snaps, before contributing on five defensive snaps in the Buccaneers’ playoff loss to the Commanders.
The deal Barrett signed in 2024 made him a free agent at the end of the league year, so if he’s going to play in 2025, Barrett will need to sign with a new team. Tampa Bay seems like a likely destination, due to his familiarity and their willingness to bring him back in 2024. Though the team brought in Haason Reddick to work across from YaYa Diaby, Barrett could be a productive depth piece after a full offseason with the team.