Overshadowed by bigger names like Von Miller and Bradley Chubb as a member of Denver’s vaunted defense last season, outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett didn’t draw a big contract offer from the Broncos and hit the market this offseason as a free agent.
Despite recording three sacks and 28 tackles last season, the 26-year-old did not garner much interest and only received offers from the Bengals and Buccaneers, according to ESPN.
Betting on himself, Barrett agreed to a modest one-year deal with Tampa Bay for $4 million — and it looks like the steal of the offseason.
Through three weeks of play, Barrett has recorded eight sacks, tying him most all-time in that amount of time and putting him on pace to get 40 on the season and shatter Michael Strahan’s record of 22.5 in a season.
Shaq Barrett strip-sacks Jones for his 4th sack of the day! pic.twitter.com/b5gBvvqGBt
— Main Team (@MainTeamSports) September 22, 2019
“I just wanted a chance to prove my worth,” Barrett said. “Any interest is better than no interest. I’m just happy that somebody wanted me. That’s all I wanted — somebody to want me, to feel wanted and to come down here and try to earn a spot.”
Barrett, who has been himself in position to earn a lucrative long-term deal in Tampa or elsewhere, has been a bargain, but he’s not the only undervalued free-agent edge rusher who is paying off big for a new team.
In Green Bay, Preston Smith has 4.5 sacks, already better than the 4.0 sacks he recorded last season as a member of the Washington Redskins. A second-round draft pick in 2015, Smith signed a four-year, $52 million deal with $16 million guaranteed with Green Bay and looks to be worth every penny. He is part of a revamped Green Bay defense that already has 12 sacks in all, putting the Packers on pace to easily surpass the 44 they recorded as a team last season.
Preston Smith was a MONSTER
• 5 tackles
• 4 solo
• 3 sacksDominating the Edge 😤 #PSmith https://t.co/7K7MG0HacG
— IKE Packers Podcast (@IKE_Packers) September 22, 2019
And he’s not the only Smith who has boosted Green Bay’s defense this season: since coming over as a free agent from the Baltimore Ravens, teammate Za’Darius Smith has three sacks of his own thus far. He got a four-year, $66 million contract from the Packers.
“Za’Darius was a guy that just jumped off the tape, and not far behind was Preston,” Green Bay defensive coordinator Mike Pettine said in an interview about the Smiths. “We would have been thrilled with one of those two guys.”
One of the players the Smiths replaced in Green Bay, Clay Matthews, is also having success with a new team and is fourth in the NFL with four sacks for the Los Angeles Rams. Matthews headed to LA on a two-year deal worth a maximum of $16.75 million after recording a career-worst 3.5 sacks for the Packers last season.
Former #Packers OLB Clay Matthews already has his first sack for the #Rams pic.twitter.com/NyAOeT3rEA
— The Packers Wire (@ThePackersWire) September 8, 2019
With premier pass-rushing being one of the most valuable commodities in the NFL, it will be interesting to see if the success Barrett, Matthews and the Smiths have had thus far will have any influence on how teams treat free-agent linebackers in the future.
Subscribe here for our free daily newsletter
Whether you’re looking to get into shape, or just get out of a funk, The Charge has got you covered. Sign up for our new wellness newsletter today.
