Nothing has changed since Pewter Report’s January 25 report indicating that the Bucs would not likely pick up outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka’s fifth-year option. The NFL teams have until May 2 to decide whether to accept or reject fifth-year options for first-round selections in the 2021 draft class. The Bucs have decided not to accept the option year of the former Washington Huskies pass rusher.
When the Bucs selected Tryon-Shoyinka 32nd overall in the 2021 draft, they had high expectations for him. The team was looking to boost that area with a youthful, athletic ball of clay that may ultimately take Pierre-Paul’s place after winning the Super Bowl, where veteran outside linebackers Shaq Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul showed off.
With arms that measured 34 inches and a weight of 259 pounds, he was an impressive 6-foot-5. In just 38 pass rush snaps during his rookie campaign, he recorded two sacks and six pressures, building on that optimism.
But when compared to his reputation as a first-round selection pick, Tryon-Shoyinka has disappointed since that bright start. In three seasons, he has amassed 114 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, six passes defensed, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery, but just 13 sacks. However, he is arguably better remembered for the quantity of sacks he abandoned than for the ones he did complete.
Tryon-Shoyinka missed tackles, which is a basic yet frustrating reason why he missed several quarterback takedowns in 2021 and 2022. According to Pro Football Focus, he will miss more than 20% of tackles in 2021 and 2022. Since then, he has lowered that percentage to 14.9% this year, exceeding that mark. He did, however, only manage to increase his sack total from four in each of his first two seasons to five in 2023, despite his improvement in finishing tackles.
It wasn’t until Week 18 of the previous season that JTS recorded his fifth sack. However, it was a doozy, coming in the form of a strip-sack in the fourth quarter that cemented Tampa Bay’s victory over Carolina and crowned the Bucs the NFC South winners for the third consecutive year.
Midway through the season, Tryon-Shoyinka was also dropped to the rotation as rookie Yaya Diaby took his place as the starter opposite seasoned Shaq Barrett. All of this suggests that the Bucs will risk forfeiting his fully guaranteed $13.251 million salary in 2025 if they choose not to pick up his fifth-year option.
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