Outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka signed with the Eagles in late March, but it now appears his career is over. The Eagles placed the 27-year-old on the reserve/retired list on Tuesday, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.
Tryon-Shoyinka played two years of college football at Washington, where he exploded for 12.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks in his second season in 2020. The Buccaneers liked Tryon-Shoyinka enough to draft him 32nd overall in 2021 with the pick they earned from winning Super Bowl LV a few months earlier.
Beginning his career behind Shaquil Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul, Tryon-Shoyinka played 49% of defensive snaps as a rookie and logged four sacks over a full 17-game slate. The Buccaneers did not re-sign Pierre-Paul during the next offseason, setting up Tryon-Shoyinka to take his spot. He started 16 of 17 games and was on the field for over 75% of snaps as a second-year player, but he once again notched four sacks. Tryon-Shoyinka remained a regular in Tampa Bay’s defense from 2023-24, a 32-game, 23-start span in which he combined for seven sacks, but he departed after his fourth year with the team.
While the Buccaneers could have kept Tryon-Shoyinka around last season on his $13.25MM fifth-year option, they declined it in April 2024. Not long after he hit the open market for the first time, Tryon-Shoyinka signed a one-year, $4.75MM deal with the Browns. Although he got into the Browns’ first eight games last season, he played just 31 defensive snaps and went without a sack before they traded him to the Bears in a late-round pick swap at the Nov. 4 deadline.
Tryon-Shoyinka also played eight games with the Bears, who deployed him for 111 defensive snaps. As was the case in Cleveland, he did not register a sack in Chicago. He ended the year with 22 tackles in 16 games. He will now wrap up his five-year career with 160 tackles (22 TFL), 37 quarterback hits and 15 sacks over 82 games and 45 starts.
The Eagles are still deep along the edge in the wake of Tryon-Shoyinka’s exit, especially after adding A.J. Epenesa in free agency last week. They will primarily rely on Jonathan Greenard, Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith, while Epenesa and Arnold Ebiketie will provide established depth.
