Shaq Barrett Could Be a Plan B Option for the Carolina Panthers

Some NFC South news surfaced Tuesday morning as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are planning to release veteran linebacker Shaq Barrett, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Greg Auman of FOX Sports is reporting that it will be a post-June 1 move, so he won't hit the open market for quite some time.

Considering his ties to the Buccaneers' organization, you'd have to think Dave Canales makes a pitch for the veteran linebacker, especially if the Panthers were to lose Frankie Luvu in free agency.

Barrett, 31, is a two-time Super Bowl champ, winning one with the Bucs and of course, one with the Broncos taking down the Carolina Panthers. Winning is at the top of every free agent's list of priorities, but someone who already has a couple of rings may be more open to signing with a team who is trying to build something like Carolina.

If the Panthers get the sense Luvu is headed elsewhere, they will have the opportunity to find a replacement in the first wave of free agency and then the draft. Should they exit those two periods of the offseason without a respectable replacement, Barrett should be at the top of their list come June. He may not be the player he once was, but he can still have an impact on the game and will probably be a cheaper contract than the one they'll be looking to pay Luvu.

All this being said, Carolina should do everything they can to retain Luvu. He's younger and has become one of the game's best disrupters. If a deal happens, there's really no need to target the former Buccaneer.

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