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Free agent linebacker Shaquil Barrett has agreed to terms with the Miami Dolphins for one year worth up to $9 million, agents Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Tuesday.
Barrett, who had a $15.04 million option bonus expiring in March, had been released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He said he knew there was a strong possibility he would be fired because of his high salary cap charge.
Barrett, 31, was a two-time Pro Bowl selection during his five seasons with the Bucs and a key contributor on Tampa Bay’s championship-winning defense in 2020, recording three sacks against the Green Bay Packers in the NBA Championship Game. the NFC and another sack against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV.
After releasing Emmanuel Ogbah and the departure of Andrew Van Ginkel, the Dolphins didn’t have a healthy pass rusher before signing Barrett. Linebackers Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb are currently rehabbing Achilles and ACL injuries, respectively.
The team has not offered a timetable for either player’s return from injury, but Phillips is walking without a boot on his right foot and hopes to be ready for the start of the 2024 season.
Miami likely isn’t done adding pass rushers, considering how their depth took a hit last season. Late in the regular season, the Dolphins’ top three pass rushers suffered season-ending injuries; They signed veterans Bruce Irvin and Justin Houston for essentially a one-game rental in the playoffs.
Barrett and her family suffered tragedy in April 2023 when her 2-year-old daughter, Arrayah, drowned in the family pool. He returned for the start of the 2023 season and recorded 4.5 sacks and 52 combined tackles, including 33 solo tackles.
In the Bucs’ Week 2 victory over the Chicago Bears, Barrett intercepted quarterback Justin Fields and returned it for a touchdown, blowing a kiss to the sky and dedicating the performance to his daughter.
Barrett, an undrafted free agent out of Colorado State in 2015, has 59 career sacks in nine seasons with the Buccaneers and Denver Broncos. He led the NFL with a franchise-record 19.5 sacks in 2019, his first season with Tampa Bay. Barrett reached double-digit sack totals in just one other season: 2021, with 10.
ESPN’s Jenna Laine and Marcel Louis-Jacques contributed to this report.