Buccaneers edge rusher Shaq Barrett tore an Achilles’ tendon on Oct. 27 in a loss to the Ravens. Almost six months later, Barrett said his rehab is on track for a return in time for the 2023 season opener.
“Mentally, it had me in a bad spot for a day or two,” Barrett said on the Loose Cannons podcast, via pewterreport.com. “Physically, now, I’m good. I’m doing the rehab. I’m getting better. I’ve been jogging on the treadmill, . . . doing everything pretty much according to plan and on schedule. It might be a little slower right now because we’ve got a lot of time, but I’m ready to go.
“I’m going to be ready to go when it’s time to go. I’m pretty sure ‘time to go’ will be the first game. I don’t anticipate missing any games. I don’t anticipate being on any play counts. I should be ready to go for the first game for sure.”
He has five more months of rehab and likely will miss most, if not all, of training camp and the preseason.
“With this injury, it hasn’t hurt since the second day after surgery,” Barrett said. “I haven’t had any pain in it since then.”
Barrett, 31, made only three sacks, eight quarterback hits and 31 tackles in eight games last season.
He faces an important season heading into the third year of a four-year extension that will pay him $14.25 million in 2023. They haven’t restructured his contract, preventing pushing more dead money into future years if they cut him after this season.