Shaquil Barrett’s shock announcement that he’s retiring from football just days before the start of Miami Dolphins training camp wasn’t ideal, but it didn’t leave Chris Grier and Mike McDaniel totally without options.
The Dolphins won’t be on the hook for Barrett’s base salary and should be able to recoup his $5.5 million signing bonus, funds the team will likely at least partially apply to a veteran pass rusher.
The good news for Miami? Options remain in free agency, and a signing could come rather quickly.
Possible Miami Dolphins Replacements for Shaquil Barrett
Emmanuel Ogbah
Both Emmanuel Ogbah and Yannick Ngakoue will audition for the job at team HQ on Monday, agent Drew Rosenhaus said on WSVN-7 Sunday night.
Ogbah spent the previous four years with the Dolphins — totaling 24.5 sacks, 61 quarterback hits, and 19 tackles for loss — before Miami released him in a cap-motivated move earlier this offseason.
Ogbah was a bad fit in Vic Fangio’s 2023 Dolphins scheme, but he still had 5.5 sacks and 15 pressures in just 246 snaps.
Our guess is new Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver would find a way to make it work with Ogbah, certainly at least until Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb return from injury.
Yannick Ngakoue
Ngakoue and Weaver missed each other by a year in Baltimore — Ngakoue’s lone season with the Ravens (2020) was just before Weaver joined up — but the Dolphins DC absolutely knows his reputation.
The 2017 Pro Bowler has 69 sacks and 142 hits in eight NFL seasons spent with the Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings, Las Vegas Raiders, Indianapolis Colts, and Chicago Bears.
Ngakoue had four sacks and 11 pressures in 13 games for the Bears in 2023 before suffering a season-ending ankle injury.
Carl Lawson
Carl Lawson arrived in Gotham with high expectations before the 2021 season but couldn’t stay healthy after signing a three-year, $45 million contract with the New York Jets.
He appeared in just 23 games during those three years, including six in 2023, missing multiple games as a healthy scratch.
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Still, the natural talent that helped Lawson total 20 sacks and 83 hits in his first four seasons (spent with the Cincinnati Bengals) intrigued the Dolphins, who brought him in for a workout back in April.
Tyus Bowser
Contra Ngakoue, Tyus Bowser’s time in Baltimore overlapped significantly with Weaver’s in Baltimore. They spent the last three years together in Charm City, with Bowser producing seven sacks and 15 hits in 2021.
But he tore his Achilles late that season and his career hasn’t yet gotten back on track. Bowser missed the entire 2023 season with a knee injury, and the Ravens cut him in the offseason.
Charles Harris
Don’t spit out your morning coffee, Dolphins fans.
Yes, Charles Harris was a failed first-round pick for the Dolphins in 2017. But he proved in 2021 that he can be serviceable in the right situation. Harris totaled a career-high 7.5 sacks for the Lions that year, although he has just 2.5 since.