In the spring of 2021, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers executed the last pick of the opening round of the NFL Draft for the first time in franchise history. That was their reward for winning Super Bowl LV a few months earlier. Though Tampa Bay also won Super Bowl XXXVII after the 2002 season, they didn't own their 2023 first-round selection because it had been included in the trade with Oakland for the rights to Head Coach Jon Gruden.
The Buccaneers closed out the prime-time draft show on April 29, 2021 by taking Washington edge rusher Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, a potentially dynamic pairing with Shaquil Barrett in the waning days of Jason Pierre-Paul's time with the team. Tryon-Shoyinka was an intriguing prospect given his combination of size, length and physical gifts, but he also hadn't played football in quite a while after opting out of Washington's 2020 COVID season.
After four seasons with the Buccaneers, Tryon-Shoyinka is now headed towards free agency if he doesn't get a new deal with the team before March 12. The fact that this is occurring four years into his career is significant; the Bucs declined his fifth-year option last May rather than locking him for one more season before he could test free agency.
Tryon-Shoyinka did move into the starting lineup in his second season, and he proved to be a versatile defender for Head Coach Todd Bowles to move around the field. However, he never produced more than 5.0 sacks in a single season, ending with 2.0 in 2024.
"I think Joe did everything right for us except get to the quarterback on a consistent basis. I thought from a run standpoint he was fine, from a drop standpoint he was fine, from a toughness standpoint, he was fine. He did everything \[we asked of him\].
"Obviously, when you think edge rushers, you want to think 'get to the quarterback' first. And that didn't show up from a double-digit standpoint and some of it – we drop differently than normal teams and some of it is you have to turn the corner at some point but just rushing the passer a little bit more will be the only thing. Everything else, he did okay."
Given his physical gifts and his age, Tryon-Shoyinka will undoubtedly get a chance to continue his development in the NFL. Whether or not that occurs in Tampa with his original team will be determined in the coming weeks.
Tryon-Shoyinka is one of 23 players from the Bucs' 2024 roster who are on pace to become unrestricted free agents if they don't get a new deal done before the start of the 2025 league year in March, a list that grew by one when the team declined their second-year option on safety Jordan Whitehead. Some of the players we'll examine prior to the free agency start date of March 12 could get a new deal to stay in Tampa before that deadline. It's likely some of them will not be back, or will at least see what's available in free agency. This is the full schedule of our 2025 Free Agent Focus rundown:
February 14: [QB Kyle Trask](https://www.buccaneers.com/news/2025-buccaneers-free-agent-focus-kyle-trask)
March 6: OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka
Today we look at the very first draft pick the Buccaneers made after winning their second Super Bowl in the 2020 season.