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Corsair linebacker Shaq Barrett is now a Super Bowl champion.
He is also an outstanding free agent.
Barrett led the league with 19.5 sacks in 2019. Although he was only 8.0 during the regular season of 2020, he looked like a sack champion in Sunday’s 31-9 victory over Kansas City. He was consistently on the defensive to put pressure on Patrick Mahomes, ending with a sack and four strokes of a defender.
But he played the 2020 season under the franchise brand, which means he is expected to hit the open market in March.
In the euphoric rapture of Super Bowl LV, Barrett may have undermined his agent’s influence somewhat by clearly declaring his desire to stay with Tampa Bay.
“I know [there] there is no other place I would prefer to be. So I am almost sure that my agent will speak to them, they will speak and we will find a quick solution to that, ”said Barrett. “I know I found a home here. They gave me a chance. I gained a starting point here. They gave me the freedom to play the way I wanted to. And it’s working. It’s been a perfect match from day one.
“I love it here and I just want to keep proving that they are right.”
Barrett had a strong postseason, registering 4.0 sacks, three loss tackles and eight quarterback strokes in four games.