The Miami Dolphins were dealt some tough news on Saturday when linebacker Shaquil Barrett announced his retirement from the NFL.
This late in the offseason, the Dolphins may need to get creative in order to fill the void left by Barrett’s departure, and it appears that they’re going to give old friend Emmanuel Ogbah a look on Monday by hosting him for a workout.
Dolphins will host free agent EDGE Emmanuel Ogbah for a work out Monday, per source.
Ogbah could fill much-needed pass rush void after Shaq Barrett retirement. He was productive in limited 2023 Dolphins role (5.5 sacks in 25% of snaps). Could do more under new DC Anthony Weaver.
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) July 21, 2024
Ogbah is very familiar with the Dolphins, having spent the last four seasons with them. Earlier this year, Ogbah was released by Miami in a cost-cutting move. He is currently a free agent.
In the 2023 regular season, he appeared in 15 games for the Dolphins, getting one start in the process. He finished the season with 5.5 sacks, 20 combined tackles, three tackles for loss and nine quarterback hits. He also had two passes defended, one interception and one forced fumble.
The fact that Ogbah and the Dolphins have so much familiarity with one another may give the 30-year-old an advantage as Miami evaluates its replacement options.
It wasn’t entirely clear which version of Barrett the Dolphins were going to get. In the 2019 season, for example, he led the league with a whopping 19.5 sacks, and as recently as the 2021 season, he had another double-digit sack season with 10.
But he had to deal with an unfathomable amount of adversity in the following years, suffering a torn Achilles in the 2022 season before tragically losing his daughter in the 2023 offseason. His production understandably wasn’t the same in the 2022 and 2023 campaigns.
In his retirement announcement, he mentioned wanting to prioritize his family as he moves into the next chapter of his life. He’s retiring as a two-time Super Bowl champion and two-time Pro Bowler.
The Dolphins are hoping to take a step forward in the upcoming campaign after reaching the playoffs in two straight years but having no postseason wins to show for it. It has still been more than two decades since the franchise last won a playoff game.
The season is still several weeks away, but the Dolphins will likely want to move with a sense of urgency in trying to address the loss of Barrett.
