Linebacker Shaquil Barrett, a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Denver Broncos, announced his retirement Saturday.
“I’m ready to shift my full focus to my wife and kids and helping them realize their dreams,” Barrett wrote in an Instagram post. “I’ve been thinking about this for awhile and the decision has never been more clear then it is right now.”
Barrett had signed a one-year deal with the Miami Dolphins back in March after being released by the Buccaneers in a cost-cutting move.
The 31-year old Barrett spent five season in Tampa, including the 2020 campaign which 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 59 career sacks in nine seasons with the Buccaneers and Broncos, where he captured 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 sack totals in just one other season: 2021, with 10.