The three scenarios for Barrett and the timing of it. And NBC’s special Dolphins halftime
A six-pack of Dolphins notes on a Wednesday, heading into Thursday’s game at Green Bay (8:20 p.m., NBC 6):
▪ The world will know by 4 p.m. Thursday whether the Dolphins will welcome linebacker Shaq Barrett back to their team after he decided to come out of retirement this week.
There are three scenarios for Barrett for the remainder of the season:
1). In order for Barrett to play for the Dolphins this season, Miami must remove him from the reserve/retired list by 4 p.m. Thursday and announce it publicly.
2). If the Dolphins opt not to bring him back but want to allow him to play for another team, they can release him at any point.
3). If the Dolphins opt not to bring him back but do not choose to allow him to play for another team, they can keep him on the reserve/retired list all season. Because Miami owns his rights, Barrett is at the mercy of the Dolphins, at least for the remainder of this season.
Coach Mike McDaniel said Tuesday that he was surprised by news that Barrett is coming out of retirement and has not spoken with the veteran linebacker, who retired four days before the start of training camp.
McDaniel said he and general manager Chris Grier will talk and decide the best course of action with Barrett.
Barrett would be interested in playing for the Dolphins if they want to bring him back, a source said.
In March, Barrett signed a one-year, $7 million contract that could be worth as much as $9 million with incentives. The deal included a $5.5 million signing bonus. If the Dolphins bring him back, he would be paid a prorated portion of his base salary.
Barrett had 52 tackles (including three for loss) and 4.5 sacks, an interception and three forced fumbles in 16 games for Tampa Bay last season, all starts. Pro Football Focus rated Barrett 42nd among 112 edge defenders last season.
“I haven’t had a chance to think about it,” McDaniel said. “I’ll get with Chris and we will work through that. There are a ton of implications that go through that, with team and roster stuff.”
▪ During Thursday’s broadcast, NBC has a poignant feature on Dolphins fullback Alec Ingold, who was adopted 29 years ago by two Packers fans. The network said it will air at halftime.
In the piece, Ingold spoke of “fear of rejection, fear of abandonment, fear of not being accepted.”
The segment includes interviews with his parents and also shows Ingold visiting children at a South Florida foster home — something he does routinely.
“It’s about connecting to some of the core traumas that nobody wants to talk about.... I feel like I can truly impact these kids that have the same thoughts that I went through.”
Because of the memories and his Wisconsin roots, Thursday will be especially meaningful for Ingold:
“Going back to Green Bay, Thanksgiving, family in the stands, it’s going to be special,” he said in the NBC feature.
▪ In the Dolphins’ locker room on Tuesday, Ingold said he first started dreaming about playing a game at Lambeau Field during a wedding reception there:
“I was probably 8 or 9 years old, my cousin is getting married and they have wedding receptions there. So we’re up there and everyone is dancing, having a good time and they had one of the suites open where you could just get desserts or whatever. And I sat down there for like hours just staring out at the field like, ‘Man, I want to be out there. I want to be there one day. I want to play on this field one day.’ So that was probably the earliest memory of me dreaming about being able to play on that field. Played there in Pop Warner, played there in college — we played against LSU Week 1 my sophomore season — and then again as a rookie. So it’ll be fun to be able to get back onto that field.”
Lambeau Field is special, he said, because ”it’s a community place; it’s faith, family and football there. That’s how people eat, live and breathe, it’s all about that organization and that sport. I think it brings people together, I think they’ve done a great job of continuing to renovate the place while keeping the history of it alive and well. I think it’s going to be a really cool honor to be able to be on that field, especially for Thanksgiving.”
▪ Dolphins teammates were pleased to see that Miami-Dade County on Tuesday dropped traffic citations against Tyreek Hill in the wake of an incident outside Hard Rock Stadium before the regular-season opener.
The county dropped a $179 careless driving citation and a $129 seat belt violation citation after the officer who cited him failed to show up in court.
The videos of Hill being detained, filmed by people driving by the stadium, went viral after Miami-Dade Police Officer Danny Torres yanked Hill from the back of his head by his McLaren 720S, pinned him to the ground with a knee and handcuffed him.
Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith and defensive lineman Calais Campbell, who both stopped their cars to assist Hill, expressed relief that charges were dropped.
“It’s a step in the right direction, charges being dropped,” Smith said. “I don’t think he did anything wrong. I’m glad it got settled. [The incident before the opener] pulled us closer, the entire organization, from the top down.”
Campbell said: “That was a crazy moment. I’m glad the charges were dropped. It didn’t make any sense to start with. [The incident] helped bring us closer together. Tyreek is captain, star player, great guy. We all try to have teammates’ backs.”
Hill wasn’t in the locker room during media access on Tuesday; he was excused from practice for personal reasons. McDaniel declined comment on the matter on Tuesday.
▪ Generating pressure on a quarterback is always important, but even more so with Packers quarterback Jordan Love, because there’s a particularly large disparity in his play when pressured compared to when he isn’t.
Love has a 101.8 passer rating when kept clean, including 14 touchdowns and six interceptions and 68 completion percentage.
When pressured, he has a 68 rating, with four touchdowns and five interceptions and a 47 completion percentage. His numbers under pressure are in the bottom quarter of NFL starting quarterbacks.
▪ The Patriots claimed guard Lester Cotton off waivers. Miami released Cotton this week to create a roster spot for Isaiah Wynn.
This story was originally published November 27, 2024 at 10:28 AM.
