Buccaneers' Star Linebacker Shaquil Barrett: 'I Am Going Back to Tampa Bay'

One of the biggest free agents this offseason and key pass rusher for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is staying put.

"I am going back to Tampa Bay," outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett texted ESPN's Josina Anderson shortly after the negotiating window with free agents opened on Monday.

The Bucs are offering Barrett a four-year deal worth up to $72 million that includes $36 million guaranteed, his agent Drew Rosenhaus told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Text from #Bucs LB Shaq Barrett just now: "I am going back to Tampa." #Donedecision.
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 15, 2021

After posting 27.5 regular-season sacks over the past two years, spending the 2020 season on the franchise tag, Barrett saw this free agency session as an opportunity to sign a long-term deal with the Bucs.

"I'm most definitely looking forward to getting a long-term deal done," Barrett said in February in a recent radio hit with Adam Schein on SiriusXM's Mad Dog Sports Radio. "I feel like it's time for me to break the bank now, and I most definitely want to do that to be able to set my family up better and most definitely going to keep producing, so it's not like anything is going to fall off. I still think I got a lot left in the tank."

In addition to his two-year sack count, Barrett has added 115 tackles, 30 tackles for loss, eight forced fumbles, and five defended passes during his time with the Buccaneers. He previously compiled 14 sacks ad 24 tackles for loss in five seasons with the Denver Broncos.

Barrett ranks as the No. 14 overall free agent in the NFL this year, according to Pro Football Focus.

"One of the more efficient pass-rushers in the league over the past few years, Barrett has put up solid production whether in a part-time or full-time role," Pro Football Focus wrote. "He's graded "in the green" as both a run defender and as a pass-rusher in all five years of his career, as he sets a hard edge in the run game and wins with good hands and a variety of moves when attacking the pocket."

According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Barrett finished third in the NFL with 59 quarterback pressures, the same spot he occupied in the league's 2020 rankings. Overall, he recorded 57 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 16 quarterback hits, three passes defensed and two forced fumbles to go with his eight sacks this past season.

Of course, nothing is official until the ink is dry, but it appears as though the Bucs will be retaining one of its key defensive playmakers in Barrett.