The Lead
Over the weekend, former Bronco and Super Bowl 50 champion Shaquil Barrett announced he plans to retire after 10 seasons in the NFL.
"It's time for me to hang it up," Barrett wrote on Instagram. "It's been a great ride and I appreciate everything that came with it over the years. I'm ready to shift my full focus to my wife and kids and helping them realize [their] dreams and catch em."
Barrett originally broke into the league in 2014 as an undrafted free agent for the Broncos after three seasons at Colorado State.
As a Ram, Barrett left a massive mark on the program. In 2013, Barrett racked up 12 sacks, 20.5 tackles for loss (which was a conference record), four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, one interception, 80 tackles and three blocked kicks. In the process, he became the first CSU player to win Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year.
After spending his rookie season mostly on the practice squad, Barrett worked to carve out an important role behind starting outside linebackers Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware as a Broncos' historic defense took shape in 2015. With Ware battling a back injury for part of the season and former defensive coordinator Wade Phillips' penchant for throwing wave after wave of pass rushers at opposing offenses, Barrett excelled.
In 2015, he totaled 5.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, eight tackles for loss and four passes defensed. For a team that won nine one-score games in the regular season, Barrett came up with several crucial plays, including a fourth-quarter strip-sack against the Lions and a three-play span against Cleveland in which he tallied a tackle for loss and half-sack to push the Browns out of field-goal range in overtime, leading to a Broncos win. And beyond the realm of stats, Barrett's level of play played a vital role in ensuring Ware and Miller could stay fresh throughout the postseason en route to Super Bowl 50.
After three more seasons with the Broncos, Barrett departed to join the Buccaneers. He continued to ascend in Tampa, where he set a new franchise record with 19.5 sacks in a single season and again won a Super Bowl, this time as a full-time starter.
