Shaq Barrett, Miami Dolphins Linebacker

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You can find Primal Kitchen at Target, Walmart, or any of your local grocery stores, or you can save 20% off your entire online order with code PODCAST at checkout on primalkitchen.com. Alrighty, rocking and rolling on this Friday, this is the Zach Gelb show, coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio, it's going to be bizarre seeing Shaq Barrett in a Dolphins uniform after the successful run that he's had with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but this past NFL offseason he signed a one-year deal, staying in the state of Florida, but just going from Tampa Bay to Miami, and we'll see what the Dolphins could do for this upcoming season, and the past rusher, linebacker Shaq Barrett's kind enough to join us, and we'll see what happens. Shaq, first off, congratulations on signing with the Miami Dolphins, thanks so much for doing this, and how you been?

Well, thank you for that, and I've been good, just hanging out with the family, getting this work done to make sure this year is everything I needed to be. So, you've overcome so much, right, as a player, you know, personally, a lot of people know your story, but now it's once again one of these times when people start to doubt you, they're like, okay, he's getting into it, he's getting into it. They start to doubt you, they're like, okay, he's getting into his early 30s, coming off injuries, the Bucks say goodbye to him, now he's finding his way in Miami. Tell people what type of player you still believe that you could be in the NFL. I think I could still be top 10, top 5, top 2, top 1 head rusher in the league, as long as I'm healthy, and I got like a full offseason now on the train, and get right, and make sure I get into this playbook so I won't have to second guess anything, just read and react.

I think me along with Chubb and JP, we could do really big things for the Dolphins up front with the pass rush, and I'm excited to be a part of it with them guys, and yeah, I think the sky's all out. I set my bar really high every time, the season start before the season, writing my notes, my goal for that year, and they're really lofty, so I usually never get them, but I'm gonna get it sooner or later with the 23 sacks. We know you've been a multiple-time Pro Bowler, you were undrafted at one point, so just with where you've been in the NFL, it's been a remarkable career, but when people still doubt you, does that still kind of get you a little extra motivated, or are you just kind of numb to all the doubt at this point? No, that always adds extra fuel to the fire, because y'all obviously, hold on, let me just disclaim, I love Tampa, I have no animosity towards Tampa at all, I understand the business of it, but just letting them let me go, they obviously don't think I can play up to the capabilities of what they was paying me to play up to, so I want to be able to prove them, like, hey, if y'all had kept me this year, y'all would have sold me, come out there and do what I'm doing for the Dolphins this year, could have happened for y'all, but I like, no animosity at all towards them, because I understand, but yeah, so it was definitely lit a fire under me that was already lit from just coming back from the injury, and then just not playing the way that I wanted to play statistically. I played, I went out there, played, gave them 100% every game, but my stats didn't show the seasons that I would like to have, so I just got to get back statistically where I need to be at. No one wants to get released, and we know how much love you had, like you said, and still have for Tampa Bay, but were you surprised when you got that phone call and you were finding out that you were going to let go from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?

No, I wasn't surprised, because I honestly prepared my family for the possibility, like, during the year, probably, I told them, like, darn it, like, I'm just like, I've been in the game for a minute, so I was like, depending on this year I had this year, it's either going to be in where the team direction is, it's either going to be they let me go and try to let the young guys eat and get ready for their roles in the defense to grow, or it's going to be I come out there dominating and earn another year, the last year in my contract, and I played good, but I did not dominate, so I understood them letting me go, but I still don't want to be let go, like you said, like, obviously, it was a little bit of, like, they lost faith in my ability, and I want to show everybody that my abilities are still there, even being 31, because 31 is nothing, I'm still young. Shaq Barrett here with us now, the Dolphins, so how did it come together with you signing a one-year deal with the Dolphins and changing over to that franchise? So my agent was talking to me about potentially going to New York, and it was New York all the way up until maybe, I don't remember what day I signed, but it was New York until the day I ended up a grand of times with the Dolphins, and they just came out of left field for real, and I, like, I love the prospect of going to New York, but Dolphins, like, they just more established as a team, be more proven at this point, and they got some good guys in the room, like in my past rush room, so I was looking forward to partnering up with them guys, and no state tag, so that helps out a lot. Was it the Jets or the Giants when you say New York? Oh, Jets, Jets. That would have been fun, right, because you played alongside Tom Brady, or Tom Brady was your quarterback for a few years in Tampa Bay, now Aaron Rodgers with the Jets, so was it mainly just the state tax, or you just think the Dolphins were a better opportunity for you than the Jets?

Yeah, I just think it was a little bit, like, better of an opportunity, and then just thinking of my family, I had to factor that in a little bit, too, so now we'll be able to stay in our Tampa home, and they can stay with their home school teacher, and then, like, we figured out, like, they do one week up here, one week down there with me and Miami, so it was just part of that factor then a lot as well, not having to really uproot everything, and just for one year, so it'll suck to have to do that, so I was happy that, this is pretty much best case scenario, if I could have the move, like, just going down the road a couple hours, and the family still get to stay here, and keep our own nanny, keep our home school teacher, like, everything get to stay the same for this upcoming year, and I'm just down there for about five, six months anyway. Talking to Shaq Barrett right now, now of the Miami Dolphins, so you talked about still wanting to break the sack record, a few years ago you were close with 19 and a half sacks, you tell me why you still believe that one day Shaq Barrett could have the most sacks in a regular season? Oh, just believing in myself and then putting that work in, and just having opportunities, and down in, like, Miami, we score, well, it's we now, but, like, last year they scored a lot of points last year, so teams always in, like, catch-up mode and having to pass the ball and get out of that game plan a little bit more often, and I'm going to take advantage of that and feast with them opportunities, because more opportunities, like, I got to make it count, like, that's the player I am and the player I want to be, and if I'm getting opportunities and I ain't producing, then I understand y'all losing faith in me and all that, I'll probably lose faith in myself if I ain't producing with a lot of opportunities, but that's not who I am, I'm a guy who's going to produce with a chance to produce.

You've been on two Super Bowl teams, so you know what it takes to hoist that Lombardi Trophy. We know the Dolphins are a good team, we're wondering if the Dolphins could be a great team. What do you see that may suggest that the Dolphins could take that step and be a Super Bowl team as soon as this upcoming season?

I think last year was a real good introduction to what they could be. Like, they was balling all year until everybody literally got hurt towards the end of the year or just got hurt for season-ending injuries, which made it a lot tougher, a lot harder, because people could step in and fill in, but, like, at some point you're going to need your starters to come back, and then they wasn't able to come back, so that just made it a little tougher for them. But, like, just, it's hard to stop that offense. Like, I told Coach McDonough when I was meeting with him, like, man, as a pass rusher, an edge rusher, I do not like playing against that offense at all.

Like, it make you think and, like, just have to read so much stuff and, like, throw so much at you. So, like, being in that offense this game, like, it's hard for teams to gain playing against that on defense. So, they going to score their points, and it's going to be up to us to do our part on defense, and they've been doing that so far, and I'm excited to add my little two cents into it and be able to try to take us to the next level. As a defensive player, no one had to be able to identify offenses that could give you fits. When we talk about the Dolphins, everyone talks about the scheme of Mike McDaniel, right? The two wide receivers, Tyree Killen, Jalen Waddle, Rahim Mostert had a great season last year.

People are still trying to figure out what two it could be. Let's say you were going up against Tua. What really stands out to you about the quarterback, now your quarterback, and Tua Tonga-Wailoa? Tua, he can make all the throws, and he can make plays with his feet, and he can extend plays and get out of the pocket. Like, he got all the tools to be a great quarterback in this league, and he showed when he was healthy last year that that's the pace he was going to be on. As long as he stayed healthy, and all of O-line healthy, receiver's healthy, the sky's the limit for Tua. That's one of the reasons I came down, too, because Tua's a young quarterback, and he's getting it to his prime so he's going to be at the top of his game for a long time. And then with the schemes, everything just hit you perfect down here.

And now he's got the secret sauce, right? You're around Payda Manning, you won a second Super Bowl, you're around Tom Brady, he wins a seventh Super Bowl, and now Shaq Barrett's around Tua Tonga-Wailoa, maybe he starts to win a Super Bowl. The only thing that's about that though, I won all of them in my second year with the team, so second year with them I won, second year with Tua, so I'm going to break the second-year curse this year and get it done the first year.

Well, that's the plan anyway. So you overcame a big injury in 2022, and you got back last year. We know at the end of the season, like you said, Bradley Chubb got hurt.

You had Jalen Phillips, who I think is so underrated and just a stud in this league, he gets hurt as well. Having going through that injury, and then you guys want those guys on the field, this back as soon as possible, just what advice would you give both those guys and maybe taking a patient and making sure that they eventually get on the field at 100%? Yeah, so that injury is two different injuries, so with JP, I tell him, once you clear, just go up and start going for it. Because your Achilles is going to hold up, you ain't got to second guess it, you ain't got to, because that's how mine was. I was a little nervous at first, but then when I was like, oh no, it's good, just trust it, and everything just started to fall in line with the rehab and everything. And with Chubb, I never had an ACL, I don't know what the recovery was like, but just take it slow and make sure you're right before you get on the field.

And it's still not going to be all the way right. Well, I really don't, I can't speak too much on it with an ACL. Gotcha. Before we let you run, Shaq Barrett, to be remiss if I didn't bring this up, one of my favorite moments from this past season was your touchdown back in week two, I believe. And then afterwards, it allowed your story to get out, honoring your daughter who tragically passed away at two years old. When you just look back at that week two moment and that touchdown, just what does it mean to you now, basically almost a year later? Oh, it still means everything, just to be able to talk about my girl a little bit more and have some spotlight put on her. It just means the world. I just want to keep her name alive for as long as possible because she was everything for our family.

And we always want to have a big hole that will never be able to be filled. And we do have a new baby girl, Alana, now. And she's been everything for us, too. Thank you.

Thank you. But it's still like it ain't no replacing, replacing a child. So it's always going to be tough. It's always bad to have to go through always random moments of just crying.

Yeah, but we get into it together as a family and, of course, with our Lord and Savior. Yeah. And obviously coming, overcoming an Achilles injury.

Right. I understand it pales in comparison, but there's always that mental struggle the following season. And then obviously what you had gone through, it's everyone's worst nightmare. Just enter in this year mentally.

Just if you don't mind me asking, where are you at right now? So the Achilles ain't really bothered me at all too much because I already knew just putting the work in. I'm gonna be able to get back to where I was at. Like, I know injuries are part of the game. I hated getting hurt when I did get hurt. But so that like that really didn't weigh too much on me mentally.

But what my daughter said that, yeah, that was a lie. And that's always going to be on my mind. And there's always going to be thought of. So it's just something I had to deal with and play with and play through, which I'll be able to do long as I'm just talking to my family, talking to people about it, not holding it in.

So, yeah. Well, much love. Once again, congratulations on the birth of a child and then also a new home in the NFL now with the Miami Dolphins always rooting for you and appreciate you giving us some time today.

I appreciate you having me on. See store for details. Like the tech filled Tucson and Kona, as well as the spacious Palisade. Enjoy wherever you go with the peace of mind that comes with America's best warranty and three years or thirty six thousand miles of complimentary maintenance.

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