On Thursday morning, the Miami Dolphins reversed course and released edge rusher Shaq Barrett from the reserved retired list. This move allows Barrett to sign with another team and play this season if he isn’t claimed on waivers by Friday. However, per NFL rules, if another team does claim Barrett, he won’t be able to play this season.

Barrett announced in late November that he wanted to unretire and play again this season. According to reports, neither he nor his agent gave the Dolphins a heads up on this news and it caught the organization off guard.

In the offseason, Barrett used Miami vs the NY Jets to get himself the most money and forced Miami to pay him more, but then, on the eve of training camp, Barett unexpectedly retired, leaving Miami in a pinch. So, the fact that the Dolphins are not releasing him now, which would let him sign with any team he wants, isn’t surprising.

Barrett was released by the Bucs in a cap space-clearing move last offseason. Barrett moved from Denver to the Tampa Bay Bucs in 2019 and led the league in sacks with 19.5. For his career, he has 400 tackles, 59 sacks, and 22 forced fumbles. He was a two-time Super Bowl champion.

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