Bucs Restructure Shaq Barrett’s Contract

In a necessary move to operate throughout the season, the Bucs have restructured the contract of outside linebacker Shaq Barrett, per ESPN’s Field Yates. Barrett, 31, is entering the third year of a four-year contract he signed prior to the 2021 season. The move opens up $10,468,000 in needed cap space for the 2023 season. The team previously only had just over $1,000,000 in space per Over The Cap.

Effective today at 4 PM ET, the NFL’s Top 51 cap space rule went away for the season.

Many teams created cap space through contract restructures:

49ers George Kittle/Trent Williams: $23.224M
Ravens Marlon Humphrey: $7.536M
Seahawks Jamal Adams: $6.613M
Bucs: Shaq Barrett:…

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 6, 2023

The Bucs were faced with the decision to restructure one of three contracts in order to get enough cap space to pay their practice squad players along with other costs they will face throughout the season. Those three contracts were either Barrett, wide receiver Mike Evans or linebacker Devin White. With the team mired in contract extension disputes with both Evans and White, opting to restructure Barrett became the most reasonable option.

Restructure Pushes Cap Obligations Into Future

While the move opens up cap space this year it also reduces the space the Bucs have in 2024 and beyond. Prior to the move Barrett was already set to count $23,650,000 against the 2024 salary cap and counting as a $9,550,000 “dead cap” charge in 2025, a year he is not under contract for. Now those figures rise to $26,267,000 and $17,401,000 respectively.

This move is just one of several necessary restructures the Bucs have been forced into due to their cap management from 2020 to 2022 while the team sought to maximize their Super Bowl window with former starting quarterback Tom Brady. In addition to the Barrett restructure the team restructured the contracts of wide receiver Chris Godwin, cornerback Carlton Davis III, center Ryan Jensen, and nose tackle Vita Vea.

Bucs Decision Virtually Locks Barrett Onto 2024 Roster

In restructuring Barrett’s deal, the Bucs have to guarantee the previously un-guaranteed salary they are restructuring. This increases the amount of “dead money” associated with Barrett’s cap figure in 2024 and beyond. It creates a situation where even if the Bucs wanted to move on from their star pass rusher next year due to any number of factors (age, injury concerns), they will be virtually unable to do so. Though Barrett’s cap number while on the roster is the aforementioned $26,627,000 – if they decided to cut Barrett they would be responsible for would be $27,801,000 due to the acceleration of his dead cap charges.

The team could move around that in a way by waiting until June 2nd to release him. In the event they opted for that course of action they could let Barrett go with a $9,267,000 penalty in 2024 while saving $17,000,000 on the cap. However, it would not help them during their free agency period as they would have to carry his $26,627,000 cap hit until June 2nd, long after the best free agents had signed elsewhere. Additionally, the Bucs would still be on the hook for the $17,401,000 dead cap charge in 2025.

Barrett’s Achilles Injury Likely Postponed This Move

Bucs OLB Shaq Barrett and DT Vita Vea – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Bucs could have pulled the trigger on this move months ago. Had they done this in March along with the restructures of Godwin, Davis, Jensen and Vea they could have had a bit more wiggle room in free agency to sign an additional depth veteran or two. In doing so they would not have to be so reliant on a bevy of rookies. The team likely opted not to include Barrett in that round of restructures due to the uncertainty at the time surrounding his recovery from a season-ending Achilles injury he suffered last fall.

Achilles injuries are notoriously difficult to return to form from. Recovery typically takes about a year but beyond that most players don’t return to their pre-injury level of play until year two post injury. With Barrett approaching his 31st birthday the team was likely worried that he may never return to his status as a true number one edge in the NFL. Thankfully, Barrett has looked like his explosive self during training camp as well as his limited playing time in the preseason.

With this restructure the Bucs now have about $11.5 million in cap space for the 2023 season. They currently rank 18th in the NFL in projected cap space for the 2024 season.