A SUPER BOWL champion’s bid to unretire and make his comeback to the NFL has been halted by a little-known rule.
Shaq Barrett, 32, has been on the retire/reserve list of the Miami Dolphins this season.
The linebacker, however, has not been selected by the Dolphins to come off the list.
This means he will not play this season in the NFL after retiring from the sport in July.
However, Barrett can not join another team as a payer can not retire and then become a free agent.
This means that the Dolphins will own his rights for 2025, as he signed a new one-year deal in March.
It has been reported that the Dolphins does not intend to release and allow him to sign for another team leaving him retired.
Barrett had requested to return to the NFL to continue his career.
But head coach Mike McDaniel was caught off guard by the request.
He said: “The team counts on me to focus on the Packers.
“I’ll meet with [general manager] Chris [Grier] and we’ll work on it.
‘There are a lot of team and roster implications to consider.”
But it appears the decision is to leave Barrett out of the roster for the rest of the season.
The linebacker had an up-and-down career as he went undrafted out of Colorado State in 2015.
However, he did go on to win two Super Bowl titles – the first came with the Denver Broncos in 2015.
His second came with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020.
Barrett’s best season came in 2019 as he topped the league with 19.5 sacks which set a record for the Buccaneers.
He achieved 59 career sacks and was recognised as one of the most dynamic pass rushers in the NFL.
Unfortunately, Barrett and his family dealt with a heartbreaking situation in 2023.
His two-year-old daughter, Arrayah, drowned in the family’s pool.
