One of the first deals done when the negotiating window opened on Monday was a deal that could have been done at any time after the regular season ended.
And there was no other deal to do.
”It was pretty much Tampa, Tampa and Tampa,” Buccaneers linebacker Shaquil Barrett told Dan Patrick on Tuesday, via JoeBucsFan.com. “Tampa was my Plan A and I’m happy I didn’t have to get to Plan B. I did not get another offer that was better than Tampa.”
The explanation meshes with the assessment that the Bucs gave Barrett an offer, and that they told him as of noon ET on Monday they’d start looking elsewhere for pass rushers, and the deal would be yanked.
It also confirms what we already knew — agents seek (and receive) offers from other teams before the negotiating window opens.
Barrett’s deal, with a base value of $17 million, shows what happens in an environment with reduced cash and cap space and a glut of pass rushers. Despite being the crown jewel of the 2021 class, Barrett fell $10 million per year short of Joey Bosa‘s $27 million per year deal.