Two-time Pro Bowl linebacker Shaq Barrett, who announced his retirement from the NFL in July, has applied for immediate reinstatement, 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.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tuesday he was caught by surprise when he learned of Barrett’s desire to return this season, and was not prepared to comment on what the team will do with Barrett. McDaniel said he had not remained in communication with Barrett since he retired the day before the Dolphins opened training camp in July.
“The team is counting on me to think about the Packers,” McDaniel said. “I’ll get with [general manager] Chris [Grier], and we’ll work through that. There’s a ton of implications that go along with it in terms of team and roster stuff, so we’ll work through that as we just got the news today.”
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 recorded 59 career sacks over nine seasons with the Bucs and Denver Broncos, with whom he won 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.
ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques contributed to this report.
