Denver Broncos: Would Broncos Country rather have Von Miller or Shaq Barrett?
What would be the chances that Shaquil Barrett puts on a Denver Broncos jersey again?
Barrett went undrafted out of Colorado State and spent the first five seasons of his career playing in Denver as a rotational pass-rusher. He played well in spots and given he played for a college in Colorado, he became a fan favorite.
Following the 2018 season, the Broncos were faced with Barrett looking to leave for greener pastures, namely, more money and a better opportunity. The Broncos would have loved to have kept him, but with Von Miller and a young Bradley Chubb on the roster, he wasn’t going to get the opportunity he was looking for.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers decided to give him that shot. Let’s just say that has worked out pretty well. In two seasons with the Bucs, Barrett has 27.5 sacks and a Super Bowl ring. He’s now recognized as one of the best edge rushers in the league.
Guess what the Broncos need help with this offseason? Another solid edge rusher.
That need could be made even bigger depending on what the team decides to do with the contract of Miller. Is there any way the Broncos could improve at edge rusher by eliminating one player and bringing in a former face?
If the Broncos were considering making that decision, which side would you sit on? The idea of signing Barrett as a free agent was discussed here prior to Super Bowl LV.
Miller is coming off missing an entire season and he only recorded eight sacks the year before. In those same two seasons, Barrett had the best years of his football career. Still, you likely won’t find too many Broncos fans willing to admit that Miller has lost a step or that Barrett, at this point in their careers, is the better player.
There’s a good chance the Bucs won’t even let Barrett hit the open market. The team is coming off of a Super Bowl win and will likely work hard to keep the nucleus of that roster intact. Barrett is a key piece of that defense.
But there will be teams looking to snag Barrett if at all possible. If the Broncos were to use their club option and dump the contract of Miller, they could then theoretically use the money saved against the salary cap to bring Barrett back to the Mile High City.
Would Barrett want to come back?
Whether or not Barrett even had any interest in returning to Denver is an interesting question to ask.
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After five seasons in Denver, he made it clear he felt that he was a starter and wanted more playing time. No one can blame the Broncos for letting him move on in favor of Miller and Chubb, but he may look back on his time in Denver with a bit of resentment due to the organization not doing enough to keep him around.
Barrett would go on to lead the entire league in sacks in 2019, basically sticking to Denver by proving he was what he said he was. But no one saw that coming and if they say they did, it wouldn’t be believable.
However, at this juncture of their careers, which player would be better for Denver between Barrett and Miller is a much more legitimate question than one would think or one would have believed two years ago.
So, if you felt the Broncos had a chance to bring Barrett back to Denver, which player would you rather have? And to say that keeping Miller and Chubb while also bringing Barrett back is not feasible. It didn’t work then and it wouldn’t work now.
So, Miller or Barrett? What’s your call?