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Joe Tryon

Bucs To Start YaYa Diaby Over Joe Tryon-Shoyinka

December 3rd, 2023 at 12:13pm CST by Rory Parks

The Buccaneers have made a switch at outside linebacker. Head coach Todd Bowles said on a recent appearance on the Buccaneers Radio Network that third-round rookie YaYa Diaby, who earned the first start of his pro career against the Colts last week, will start opposite Shaq Barrett moving forward, thereby relegating Joe Tryon-Shoyinka to reserve duty (via JoeBucsFan.com).

Tryon-Shoyinka, a 2021 first-rounder, solidified himself as a starting OLB at the end of his rookie season and started 16 of Tampa Bay’s 17 games in 2022. He posted four sacks and 10 QB hits in 2021, but despite playing nearly twice as many snaps the following season, he again registered four sacks and just 14 QB hits. Thus far this season, he has again tallied four sacks to go along with six QB hits.

The advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus consider Tryon-Shoyinka a slightly above-average edge defender in 2023, assigning him a 67.1 overall score and a 63.5 mark as a pass rusher, which are nearly identical to the grades he earned in 2022. That is a respectable enough performance, but at this point, the Bucs probably expected more from a former first-round pick in his third professional campaign. As Bowles said, Diaby “does some things better than Joe” and “probably is the [physically] strongest [outside linebacker] we have out there.”

In roughly 150 fewer snaps, Diaby has matched Tryon-Shoyinka’s sack total and has recorded just one fewer QB hit. He turned in a two-sack performance in Tampa Bay’s Week 11 loss to the 49ers, which is what prompted Bowles to elevate him to the starting lineup against Indianapolis in Week 12.

The hope, of course, is that Diaby can provide more of a consistent threat to opposing quarterbacks, especially since Barrett — who suffered a torn Achilles in the middle of last season — is struggling to match the level of production he has enjoyed for much of his Bucs tenure. Buoyed by strong showings from D-linemen Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey, the club at least has managed to remain in the middle of the pack in terms of total sacks.

While Bowles did say that Tryon-Shoyinka would still see playing time, the demotion comes at a very bad time for the Washington product. Tampa Bay will have to make a decision on his fifth-year option by May 2024, and it seems unlikely the team will exercise it. The option would give Tryon-Shoyinka a fully-guaranted salary of $12.8MM in 2025.

Buccaneers Sign Joe Tryon

June 22nd, 2021 at 12:04pm CST by Zachary Links

The Buccaneers have signed first-round linebacker Joe Tryon, per a club announcement. Tryon, the final Round 1 pick of this year’s draft, could prove to be a tremendous value for Tampa Bay.

Tryon underwent a knee scope in early May, resolving an issue that may have impacted his stock. Luckily, that hasn’t kept the Washington product off of the practice field.

“Yeah, he’s full-speed now and he looked really, really good,” head coach Bruce Arians said during mandatory minicamp. “He’s obviously everything we thought he was. Obviously we’ll learn more in pads. But he’s slippery in shorts and a lot of guys aren’t. He showed some really good skillset.”

Tryon opted out of the 2020 collegiate season, but he was a menace in 2019. In his final year on the field, the outside linebacker tallied eight sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss. Now, he’s ready to add even more firepower to the Bucs’ front seven.

With Tryon in the fold, the Bucs now have six of their seven draft picks signed. Meanwhile, most of the first round is now in the books — less than ten Round 1 selections remain unsigned.

Ten First-Round Picks Remain Unsigned

June 20th, 2021 at 2:49pm CST by Zachary Links

This year, NFL teams have been quick to tackle their rookie paperwork. Still, there are a decent number of unsigned draft picks remaining, including ten of this year’s first-rounders: 

In a sense, this is a sign that things are back to normal in football following the pandemic. For example, by June 12th of 2019, 22 first-round picks had put pen to paper, with 222 rookies inked on the whole. However, around this time last year, there were just two first-round picks officially in the fold – Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and Panthers defensive lineman Derrick Brown.

Offset language and similar minutia could be holding these ten deals up, but there’s no reason to panic. In all likelihood, these rookie contracts will be squared away before the start of training camp this summer.

NFC South Notes: Lance, Tryon, Spencer

May 18th, 2021 at 10:47pm CST by Rory Parks

Let’s take a look at some news and notes from the NFC South as we approach the witching hour on this Tuesday evening:

  • The Falcons were perhaps the most interesting team to watch during the first hour of last month’s draft, as they could have gone in any number of directions. Ultimately, they kept their No. 4 overall pick and selected Florida TE Kyle Pitts as part of their effort to gear up for one final run with Matt Ryan. But if the 49ers had not selected North Dakota State QB Trey Lance one pick before Atlanta, then Lance might be holding Ryan’s clipboard this year. The Falcons were represented at both of Lance’s Pro Days, and as Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com writes, if there was a signal-caller to stop Atlanta from taking Pitts, Lance might have been it (subscription required). A source tells Fowler that Lance thought the Falcons were the club most interested in him, and after the Pro Days, NDSU coaching staff got the sense that Lance would not fall past Atlanta.
  • The final pick of the first round of this year’s draft, Joe Tryon, underwent a knee scope a few weeks ago, per Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians (Twitter link via Jenna Laine of ESPN.com). Luckily, Arians said the Washington product should be ready to go by next month’s mandatory minicamp. Tryon opted out of the 2020 collegiate season, but he was a menace in 2019, racking up eight sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss. He should provide even more firepower to Tampa’s front seven.
  • The Panthers continue to make additions to their personnel department. Carolina has hired former Washington Football Team scout Cole Spencer as its new director of college scouting, the team announced. The Panthers hired former linebacker Dan Morgan as their assistant GM last week, and new general manager Scott Fitterer is continuing to put his stamp on the front office. Spencer had been with WFT for over a decade and was promoted to national scout in 2019.