Veteran pass rusher Shaq Barrett will not play for the Miami Dolphins — or any team — in 2024.
The Dolphins decided not to activate Barrett — who called it quits in July only to decide this week he wanted back in — off the reserve/retired list ahead of Thursday’s 4 p.m. deadline.
Miami Dolphins Make Shaq Barrett Decision
They also are not cutting him — which would have allowed Barrett to join another contender. Many around the league believe that was Barrett’s true motivation behind this week’s unexpected development.
UPDATED (Nov. 29): Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel told reporters after his team’s loss to the Packers Thursday that “the timing wasn’t necessarily ideal” to bring back Barrett, plus the team wanted to move forward with “the players who deserve to be here.”
Barrett never told the Dolphins he was even considering unretiring prior to his filing the paperwork for reinstatement earlier this week.
That raised suspicions that he wasn’t actually interested in playing for the Dolphins, but rather another team. The deadline for players on the retired list to be reinstated before the end of the 2024 season was Thursday afternoon.
“Obviously there’s a reason why you target and sign somebody,” McDaniel said Tuesday. “I was fully caught off guard or caught by surprise this morning as I found out. … I really haven’t had a chance to think about it.
“I think the team is counting on me to think about the Packers and I’ll get with Chris (Grier) and we’ll work through that, but 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.”
The Dolphins ultimately decided they were better off without Barrett than with him. That suggests they’re happy with the pass rushers on their team — led by ascending rookie Chop Robinson — and have confidence that Bradley Chubb will be available at some point between now and January.
Chubb hasn’t played since suffering a significant knee injury on New Year’s Eve 2023. The Dolphins also could get back Cam Goode — who also suffered a season-ending knee injury last year — in the coming weeks.
“They’re getting closer for sure and there’s a lot that goes into it, but Cam is approaching ‘good’ or he is ‘Goode’ or he will be good,” a punny McDaniel joked this week.
The decision to pass on Barrett isn’t without risk. The Dolphins have certainly missed Jaelan Phillips, who is out for the year due to injury for the second straight season. Entering Week 13, Miami had the NFL’s fifth-fewest sacks (21).
Plus they’ll be without Tyus Bowser (knee) for at least the next four weeks. The Dolphins put the veteran OLB on IR Thursday.
But that hasn’t told the whole story. They’ve been able to get pressure on the quarterback, and their pass-rush win rate (40%) is middle of the pack.
By remaining on the retired list all season, Barrett’s contract tolls, which means if he wants to play in 2025, the Dolphins will still control his rights.
- Elsewhere, the Dolphins have activated Snoop Huntley (shoulder) off injured reserve, giving Miami three available quarterbacks for Thursday night’s game against the Green Bay Packers.