Mike McDaniel on not activating Shaq Barrett: Timing wasn’t ideal [Video]

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said this week that edge rusher Shaq Barrett’s desire to return to active duty after retiring this summer took him by surprise and that the team would need to discuss the situation before making any dcisions about bringing the veteran back into the fold.

The Dolphins ultimately decided against activating Barrett ahead of Thursday’s game against the Packers and they won’t release him, which means that Barrett will not return to action this season. After the Dolphins lost in Green Bay, McDaniel was asked about that decision at his press conference.

McDaniel said the players currently on the roster “have earned the right to be on it” and that meant “the timing I don’t think was necessarily ideal” to bring Barrett back from an extended layoff. McDaniel also said that it wasn’t a matter of keeping Barrett away from other teams.

“It wasn’t any measured situation like that posturing …