TAMPA, Fla. — Bucs linebacker Shaq Barrett is happy that he won't be calling a moving company anytime soon. The 28-year-old linebacker agreed to a four-year, $72 million deal to stay in Tampa Bay.
Now, he says his wife can start decorating their house without thinking about relocating.
"Man, my wife’s been itching to start decorating, knowing that we won’t have to move in a year or two," Barrett said, with a smile during Wednesday's video chat. "And start laying down roots here. Actually trying to go out and meet people because we know we’re going to be here for some time."
Barrett played on a one-year franchise tag contract in 2020, but his eight regular-season sacks and four playoff sacks earned him a long-term deal. His 74 quarterback pressures were most in the league, according to ESPN.
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Barrett won Super Bowl 50 as a member of the Broncos, and he knows keeping a winning team together is easier said than done.
"Usually teams win, they let people go and walk," Barrett said. "People will usually demand a higher salary than teams are willing to pay. We made it work."
Barrett said this particular group of players is what made him stay in Tampa.
"We got great leaders who won’t let us get complacent and who are going to keep striving for us to the best," Barrett said. "A great coaching staff that’s going to do the same thing. It’s going to be hard for sure. But we’re ready to work. We’re ready to keep grinding. We’re still hungry."
Shaq said a handful of other teams showed interest in him, but he said his focus was coming back to the Bucs and trying to win another Super Bowl.
"There was nowhere else I wanted to be," he said.
