Former first-round pick Joe Tryon-Shoyinka is set to be a free agent, and recent reports indicate the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will not bring him back for a second contract. Originally selected with the 32nd overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Washington product entered the league as a raw prospect with a promising athletic ceiling. While he showed flashes of promise during his four years in the NFL, the edge rusher has never put it all together. Through four seasons, Tryon-Shoyinka has recorded 15 sacks, 138 tackles, 21 tackles-for-loss, and 35 quarterback hits.
Tampa Bay declined the fifth-year option on Tryon-Shoyinka’s contract and he didn’t do enough last year to make the Buccaneers regret that decision. According to Rick Stroud of The Tampa Bay Times, the Washington product will not return to the team, but he should find a home in free agency. While he probably won’t ever live up to his draft capital, he could be a solid rotational piece for a team like the Kansas City Chiefs or Los Angeles Chargers.
Buccaneers Will Not Retain Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Could Sign With Chiefs, Chargers
The Kansas City Chiefs are preparing for their seventh-straight AFC Championship appearance after defeating an overmatched Houston Texans squad in the divisional round. The defensive line dominated the matchup, sacking quarterback C.J. Stroud eight times throughout the contest. Kansas City’s pass rush was up for the task last week, but they weren’t in the regular season. Was this a sign of things to come, or just a one-week fluke against an overmatched opponent?
Former first-round pick George Karlaftis was the only edge defender on the roster to record more than 3.5 sacks. The interior duo of Chris Jones and Tershawn Wharton are impressive, but Kansas City should add more talent to the edge in the offseason. Veteran Michael Danna is nothing more than an adequate role player, and 2023 first-round pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah continues to look like a bust. Joe Tryon-Shoyinka isn’t an All-Pro, but he could fit in as the fourth or fifth-best member of a defensive line.
Rebuilding A Defensive Line
The Los Angeles Chargers defensive line could look dramatically different in 2025. Impending free agent Khalil Mack is contemplating retirement, while one-time star pass rusher Joey Bosa is a probable cut candidate. Head coach Jim Harbaugh is an old-school mind who believes in winning games in the trenches, so he could target a veteran like Joe Tryon-Shoyinka on the open market.
Of course, Tryon-Shoyinka alone cannot replace these two legends. Fortunately, he won’t have to. Los Angeles currently has just north of $63 million in projected cap space, and that number will increase with the expected release of Bosa. The Chargers could easily spend up on one of the big free agent edge defenders and still have money left over to sign a complementary player like Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. While he probably won’t be anything more than a depth player, Harbaugh excels at getting the most out of his players, so perhaps the former first-round pick can put it all together under a better coach.
Main Photo: Kim Klement-Neitzel – USA Today Sports
