Two-time Super Bowl winner Shaq Barrett cleared to make stunning NFL return weeks after unretiring

The Miami Dolphins are dropping Shaq Barrett from their reserved/retry list, clearing the way for the two-time Super Bowl winner to return to the NFL just before the playoffs.

Barrett retired in the offseason, a year after his daughter drowned in their family home, before changing his mind in November.

But at the time, the Dolphins opted not to activate him from the roster or release him to join a rival team, leaving Barrett in limbo.

Now, however, the Dolphins are letting him go and if he clears waivers on Friday, he could play again this season. If a team claims him before then, he will be ineligible.

“We appreciate the Dolphins giving Shaq this opportunity to continue his career in the NFL,” said his agent Drew Rosenhaus. as said by Adam Schefter.

“Hopefully he gets cleared off waivers and becomes a free agent so he can play again this season. He is in great shape and should be ready to play straight away.’

It could mean Barrett goes from the NFL wilderness to a team competing for the Super Bowl with the playoffs on the horizon.

Barrett, 32, won Super Bowl 50 in 2015 with the Denver Broncos and Super Bowl LV in 2021 with Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Barrett was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in February, shortly before signing with the Dolphins and subsequently retiring, missing out on a $15.04 million option bonus he was due in March.

He stepped away from the game to spend more time with his young family after his two-year-old daughter Arrayah drowned in their family pool in April 2023.

‘This is a daily struggle. Uphill battle,” Barrett said in July 2023. “Her smile — I just miss her so much. Her energy, just like you put her to bed every night and read stories.

“She just brought so much clarity, wholeness and completeness into our lives. And we definitely have a big, big, big, big, big hole in our hearts and our lives that we’re not going to be able to fill.”