The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have done a lot of things wrong on defense this year, but it’s never too late to take some of those mistakes and turn them into lessons they can grow from.
One of those mistakes has been the continued presence of edge rusher and former first round pick Joe Tryon-Shoyinka on the field in key situations — or any situations at all to that end.
While the Tryon-Shoyinka era will almost certainly come to an end after his 4-year, $11.1 million contract runs out following the 2024 season, it’s not too late for the Buccaneers to turn the page on a player who has once again delivered almost zilch in terms of defensive playmaking with 2 games left in the regular season.
Tryon-Shoyinka, in his third season as a full-time starter in 2024, has career lows of 23 tackles, 2.0 sacks, 3 TFL and 4 QB hits — the latest regression for a player who has continually gone backwards since he was taken with the final pick in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft.
In his place, the Buccaneers might be wise to finally give Jose Ramirez a chance at regular-season pass rush reps.
Ramirez was a sixth round pick (No. 196 overall) by the Buccaneers out of Eastern Michigan in the 2023 NFL draft and had 3.0 sacks in the 2024 preseason but has only been on the active roster for 4 games in the regular season.
“The Buccaneers could use some help on the edge opposite Yaya Diaby, and head coach Todd Bowles said last week that the team won’t be activating Markees Watts since there isn’t room on the 53-man roster,” Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder wrote on December 23. “So, it might be worth giving Ramirez a bigger opportunity over the next two games to see if he can contribute as a third-down rusher in the playoffs.”
Buccaneers Could Have Diamond in the Rough
Ramirez didn’t take a straight line to get to the NFL. He redshirted at Arizona in 2017 then spent one year at a junior college before transferring to Eastern Michigan, where he was a three-time All-MAC selection and earned MAC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2022.
At EMU, Ramirez set the career record with 20.5 sacks and set the single-season record with 12.0 sacks — breaking the record of former EMU star and Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby, a two-time NFL All-Pro who signed a 4-year, $94 million contract extension in March 2022.
Crosby, who played for EMU from 2015 to 2018, was drafted by the Raiders in the 4th round (No. 106 overall) in 2019. Crosby has been a mentor to Ramirez since his time at EMU, even taking time to personally meet with him at the 2023 Shrine Bowl.
Ramirez spent all of his rookie season on the practice squad.
Buccaneers Signaled Time With JTS Coming to End
The Buccaneers gave the signal their time with Tryon-Shoyinka was coming to an end when they declined the fifth year option on his contract on May 1, which would have paid him $13.25 million in 2024.
While Tryon-Shoyinka hasn’t played his way into a new deal with the Buccaneers, he may have done little to play his way into a new contract with anyone.
While it’s not hard to see a team taking a flyer on Tryon-Shoyinka with a 1-year contract worth between $1 million to $3 million, the opportunity to get another long term deal has almost certainly gone by the wayside.
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