Just five months after announcing his sudden retirement from the NFL, Shaq Barrett is gearing up for a sensational U-turn. After applying for immediate reinstatement through his agents Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey, Shaq Barrett’s next chapter in the NFL remains unknown. However, an old clip of his might have already revealed his next destination.

Well, it was an interview in August he gave to Kay Adams on her UP & Adams talk show. Hearing back his words, it could seem like Barrett has his mind set on a certain franchise. But he didn’t reveal it until expressing he was happily retired until this week, “I’m not returning anywhere. I’m happily retired. But if something was going to happen. I won’t do it for any other scenario or any other team.” 

And Kay couldn’t help herself but convince Barrett to reveal what’s on his mind, “I have a lot of history down there. All that stuff with my daughter and how they came through for my family. I’d take pay cuts for Tampa. I’d do anything for Tampa for the way they showed up for my family. It meant so much to me.” So Bucs fans, don’t be surprised to see Barrett reprise his role in Florida.

Although we don’t know whether it will happen or not, considering the contractual obligations he still has with the Dolphins, Barrett’s desire to play for Tampa Bay goes far beyond the five years he spent with them. As revealed by him in the interview with Kay, the Bucs were by his side when Barrett was going through a personal loss. Last year in April, Barrett and his wife Jordanna lost their 2-year-old daughter, Arrayah, to a drowning incident.

However, he still returned last season while recording 4.5 sacks with 52 combined tackles and 33 solo tackles to go with them. But the problem is the $9M contract he signed with the Dolphins before calling it quits.

Shaq Barrett’s Dolphins contract stands as a thorn in his Bucs return

After leaving the Bucs, Barrett went on to sign a one-year deal with the Dolphins. But he didn’t play a single snap for them and instead announced his retirement, citing family reasons, “Ready to shift my full focus to my wife and helping them realize their dreams.” Well, it doesn’t seem like Barrett liked staying home for the last 5 months. As his plea for reinstatement has suddenly caught the NFL off-guard.

And especially Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, “There’s a reason why you target and sign somebody. 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.”

McDaniel also went on to add that both he and Phins GM Chris Grier would be talking about possible implications, “I’ll get with Chris and we will work through that. But there’s a ton of implications that go through that with team and roster stuff. So we’ll work through that as we just got the news today.” Without Barrett, the Dolphins brought back Emmanuel Ogbah into the 53-man roster. He has since gone on to start 10 games while registering 3.5 sacks.

Apart from him, their rookie pass rusher, Chop Robinson, has also contributed 3.5 sacks. But the Dolphins need all the reinforcements they can get as they prepare to take on the Packers. Winning their last 3 games on the spin, the Dolphins do have an outside chance to make the playoffs. And Barrett’s addition could only help them for the remainder of this season.