Shaquil Barrett is confident that he will be able to play in early September when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers open the 2023-2024 NFL season.
“I’m ready to go. I’m gonna be ready to go when it’s time to go. I’m pretty sure ‘time to go’ will be the first game. I don’t anticipate missing any games. I don’t anticipate being on any play counts. So, I should be ready to go for the first game for sure,” Barrett said during a recent episode of Loose Cannons.
Barrett was severely limited during the 2022-2023 NFL season after tearing his Achilles. In eight games, the Baltimore native was able to contribute three sacks, six quarterback hits and 31 tackles.
“Mentally, it probably had me in a bad spot for like a day or two,” Barrett said of his most recent injury.
“Just wanted to sulk in it a little bit. You know, all the questions you ask when something bad happens that you don’t want to happen. Physically now though, I’m good. I’m doing rehab. I’m getting better. I’ve been jogging on the treadmill. Doing everything pretty much according to plan and on schedule. It might be a little slower right now because we’ve got a lot of time, so not trying to force anything.”
After taking time to recover from his injury, the 30-year-old linebacker hopes to bring his team back to the playoffs. The Buccaneers won the NFC South last season, but fell short in a 17-point loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
