MIAMI — Shaq Barrett’s retirement during the summer stunned the Dolphins and their fans.

But after a few months on the sideline, the two two-time Pro Bowler wants back in.

Barrett, 32, has applied to the NFL for reinstatement from retirement, which is a procedural move. The Dolphins own his rights, and a league source said he would be fine playing for them.

Barrett said in an interview a month ago that if he came back and played, he would prefer it be for Tampa Bay, where he played previously and has a home. But he is open to playing for the Dolphins.

The team’s position on the issue wasn’t immediately clear.

Regarding what happens next, agent Drew Rosenhaus 1 who makes regular appearances on WSVN Fox 7 — told the station: “It all depends on the Dolphins and what they want to do … waiting for them to decide.”

On a Tuesday morning Zoom session with reporters, defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said this was the first he has heard of Barrett’s interest in playing again and declined to comment further, beyond adding that Miami was initially drawn to him because he’s a productive player and “a veteran presence, has a Super Bowl ring and there isn’t anything schematically he hasn’t seen. He’s been impactful throughout his time in the league. If he chooses to come back here, or whatever that is, then God bless him.”

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 brings him back, he would be paid a prorated portion of his base salary.

Barrett released a statement on Instagram when he retired four days before the start of training camp in July:

“It’s time for me to hang it up,” Barrett said at the time. “It’s been a great ride, and I appreciate everything that came with it over the years. I’m ready to shift my full focus to my wife and kids and helping them realize [their] dreams and catch ‘em.

“Anyone who caught their dreams before know the work, time and consistency required to reach them. I’m ready to start building them skills up in my kids, which will take 100% commitment. [I know] to some it’ll be a surprise but I’ve been thinking about this for a while and the decision has never been more clear than it is now.”

Undrafted out of Colorado State, Barrett has 59 career sacks, 22 forced fumbles, 400 tackles and 73 tackles for loss in nine seasons — the first five for Denver and the past four for Tampa Bay.

The two-time Super Bowl winner was a Pro Bowler in 2019 and 2021 and a second-team All-Pro in 2019.

He led the league with 19.5 sacks in 2019, his first with Tampa Bay after leaving Denver to sign a one-year deal with the Buccaneers. 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.

He played in only eight games in 2022 because of a torn Achilles tendon sustained in Week 8. But he had 10 sacks in 15 games in 2021.

After that season, he was ranked 86th by his fellow players on the NFL’s list of top 100 player for 2022. He was released by Tampa Bay on Feb. 24, three years into a four-year, $72 million contract extension.

The Dolphins’ situation at outside linebacker is fluid. At the moment, they have four healthy outside linebackers — rookies Chop Robinson and Mo Kamara and veterans Emmanuel Ogbah and Quinton Bell. Robinson has 3.5 sacks and 22 pressures over the past three games.

Tyus Bowser, who played 30 defensive snaps against New England on Sunday, is nursing knee and calf injuries and his status is unclear for Thursday’s game at Green Bay (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC); he would have been unable to practice on Monday if the Dolphins had practiced.

Starting outside linebacker Bradley Chubb and backup Cameron Goode remain on the physically unable to perform list after sustaining knee injuries late last season. Neither has yet been able to begin practicing, but Mike McDaniel reiterated last week that he expects Chubb to play this season, and that Goode is further along than Chubb.

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