Bucs Create Starting Opportunity for Ex-Husky Tryon-Shoyinka
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Joe Tryon-Shoyinka became a second-team All-Pac-12 selection for the University of Washington as an edge rusher. A first-round NFL draft pick for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after sitting out a season. A part-time player as a rookie for a team coming off a Super Bowl victory.
No, this former Husky defender does not get a chance to sit back and exhale, and consider all of the good things that have happened to him over the past 30 months.
Tryon-Shoyinka has been challenged to keep going — to become a full-fledged starter for the Bucs and turn himself into a defensive mainstay on the order of what current teammate and fellow former UW player Vita Vea does for Tampa Bay.
This is not a maybe proposition. It's an expectation. It's a sudden gut check.
After all, this is a franchise that almost demands ageless quarterback Tom Brady to continue to defy his advancing genetics and run its offense at the highest level.
In the case of the 6-foot-5, 258-pound Tryon-Shoyinka, the Bucs want him to grow up a lot more in a very short amount of time and take over.
Tampa Bay has not re-signed previous starter and Super Bowl standout Jason Pierre-Paul. Somebody has to fill his spot. The line begins and ends with Tryon-Shoyinka.
“He’s very athletic,” new Bucs coach Todd Bowles said of Tryon-Shoyinka. “Obviously, we took him in the first round. Going into year two, we expect him to have the nuances down with a lot of the things he did last year and expect him to come into his own. I don’t expect him to be [Jason Pierre-Paul], I expect him to be Joe. He has a skill set all on his own that he could be a good player.”
The Bucs babied Tryon-Shoyinka in his first year. Started him six times. Saw enough of him — he collected 29 tackles, 10 quarterback hits, 5 tackles for loss, 4 sacks and 3 pass break-ups in his restricted role — the franchise felt it could move on from Pierre-Paul.
Tampa Bay teammates are on board with this, recognizing that the NFL waits for no one and offers only small windows for advancement.
“I think Joe could be a double-digit sack guy every year,” Bucs linebacker Shaquil Barrett said. “I’m excited for him. In practice, I’m seeing him put the work in, so it’s just a matter of time for him to just get out there and get comfortable with it on a play-in, play-out basis, and then he’s going to take off."
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