Buccaneers place franchise tag on Shaquil Barrett

With the new CBA in place and only one tag to use, the Buccaneers have franchise tagged the NFL’s reigning sack leader Shaquil Barrett, ensuring he goes nowhere in 2020.

Bruce Arians made it a point to stress that Barrett would be around for the upcoming season and (hopefully) much longer. Without a long term deal in place - which they are surely still going to work on - the Bucs are bringing back one of their best free agent signings in years on the $15.8 million dollar tag with an Outside Linebacker designation.

That designation saves the Bucs around $2 million dollars when compared to the Defensive End tag, giving the Bucs a little more free agent flexibility.

Barrett - who signed a one year, $4 million dollar deal in 2019 - finished with 19.5 sacks, a Buccaneers single season record and the most in the league as well as 58 tackles, six forced fumbles, two passes defensed, and an interception.

The focus for the Buccaneers has been to bring back their defensive free agents and focus on the quarterback position. Locking in Barrett, for at least one year, is a step in the right direction.