Free agent linebacker Shaquil Barrett has agreed to terms with the Miami Dolphins on a one-year deal 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 due in March, was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He said he knew there was a strong possibility he might be cut due to his huge fees.
Barrett, 31, was a two-time Pro Bowl selection during his five seasons with the Bucs and was a key contributor to Tampa Bay's championship-winning defense in 2020, recording three sacks against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game and a sack Another against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV.
After the release of Emmanuel Ogbah and the departure of Andrew Van Ginkel, the Dolphins did not have any pass rushers before signing Barrett. Linebackers Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb are currently rehabilitating Achilles and ACL injuries, respectively.
The team did not provide a timetable for either player's return from injury, but Phillips is walking without a shoe on his right foot and hopes to be ready for the start of the 2024 season.
Miami probably isn't finished adding pass rushers, considering how much their depth affected them last season. By the end of the regular season, all three of the Dolphins' top forwards had suffered season-ending injuries. They signed veterans Bruce Irvin and Justin Houston to a one-game rental in the playoffs.
Barrett and his family suffered tragedy in April 2023 when his two-year-old daughter, Al-Raya, drowned in the family pool. He returned at the start of the 2023 season and recorded 4.5 sacks and 52 combined tackles, including 33 solo.
In the Bucs' Week 2 victory over the Chicago Bears, Barrett intercepted quarterback Justin Fields and returned it for a touchdown, sending a kiss to the sky and dedicating the performance to his daughter.
An undrafted free agent out of Colorado State in 2015, Barrett 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 has reached double-digit sack totals in only one other season: 2021, with 10.
ESPN's Jenna Lin and Marcel Louis Jacques contributed to this report.
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