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broncoswire.usatoday.com]
By: Travis Wakeman | January 14, 2019 10:45 am
One of the Denver Broncos’ more high profile unrestricted free agents this offseason will be linebacker Shaquil Barrett. Undrafted out of Colorado State in 2014, Barrett has spent his entire five-year career in Denver.
As a rotational pass rusher, he has been productive and because he played his college ball locally, he has latched on with much of the fanbase.
Barrett has played in 61 games over the course of the last four seasons, racking up 14 sacks, seven forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries to go along with 151 tackles. He is one of those players that makes the most of his opportunities when his number is called.
However, the Broncos may not be able to shell out what he is looking for this offseason, both financially and in terms of playing time.
Barrett had a base salary of $2.9 million in 2018, but according to Spotrac, could get a contract in the neighborhood of four years and $29.4 million, or an average of about $7.4 million per year as a free agent.
That seems a bit steep for the Broncos.
On top of that, the team willing to pay Barrett that kind of money will also likely be looking to make him a starter, something he hasn’t been in Denver. In 2018, Barrett saw action on just 25.5 percent of the team’s defensive snaps, according to Pro Football Reference.
He’ll be looking for a better situation, one in which he can make more money and become more of an impact player. There will likely be several teams lining up to make that happen for the 26-year old edge defender.
Though Barrett has gone from an undrafted project to a solid defensive player and a fan favorite, it’s likely that the Broncos will need to prepare for life after him in 2019.
