With defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon, the Bears needed help up front. And they found it in Joe Tryon-Shoyinka.
The Bears acquired Tryon-Shoyinka from the Cleveland Browns for a sixth-round pick. The Bears also received a seventh-round selection from the Browns.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted Tryon-Shoyinka out of Washington with the 32nd pick in the 2021 draft. In four seasons with the Buccaneers, Tryon-Shoyinka totaled 15 sacks, 35 QB hits and 21 tackles for loss in 66 games, including 45 starts.
The Browns signed Tryon-Shoyinka to a one-year, $4.75 million contract in March. He has appeared in eight games with no sacks and just one QB hit. He has been on the field for only 31 defensive snaps this season.
Adam Jahns
Tryon-Shoyinka is a former first-round pick. But this is far from a blockbuster move.
The Bears desperately needed to add to their defensive line mix after losing Odeyingbo. Dominique Robinson remains out with a high-ankle sprain. And Rookie Shemar Turner, a second-round pick who moved from tackle to end, is also on injured reserve with a torn ACL.
The Bears will lean on defensive ends Montez Sweat and Austin Booker going forward. Daniel Hardy, a core special-teamer, will also be an option on passing downs. Tryon-Shoyinka should be behind Booker and Hardy on the depth chart. But by adding Tryon-Shoyinka, the Bears now have some more experience at defensive end.
Patrick Norton
At 5-3 and entrenched in a highly competitive NFC North, acquiring Tryon-Shoyinka is the kind of “low risk, low reward” move that ultimately makes the most sense for the Bears ahead of the trade deadline.
While sacrificing a high-end draft pick for a rental like Cincinnati Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson certainly would have been enticing to a team lacking an elite pass rush, Tryon-Shoyinka gives the Bears’ position group some depth chart security down the stretch.
I’d be interested to see how much Tryon-Shoyinka plays on special teams as well, especially with Dominique Robinson sidelined with an ankle injury sustained on kickoff coverage.
Mark Carman
We are in the “Don’t overpay in Year 1 of Ben Johnson” era. The odds that Joe Tryon-Shoyinka makes any major contribution this year seem small. So was the price Ryan Poles paid, swapping a 6th for a 7th.
This trade feels more like a bet on Austin Booker and Dominique Robinson’s health more than anything else. Here is a drop of depth, just in case, from a former first-round talent who is hanging onto his NFL life. Perhaps Ryan Poles has something else up his sleeve, but more likely, he’s content to let this year play out while keeping his future assets.
Greg Braggs Jr.
Dennis Allen has a type. The Bears needed depth on the defensive line as much as anything after losing Dayo Odeyingbo and Shemar Turner for the year. Dominique Robinson is still nursing an ankle injury, too. So yes, it would’ve been fun if the Bears added Trey Hendrickson, but I have no issue with Ryan Poles holding serve with what they have for the rest of the year.
Let’s be honest with ourselves. The Bears will need a lot of things to go right to make the playoffs (they still can), but they are not Super Bowl contenders regardless of what they do, in my opinion. Let’s continue to see progress and development with the whole team under Ben Johnson and roll into a big offseason where the Bears can bolster their defensive line then. To mortgage big-time draft equity at this point wouldn’t have been the prudent decision. I think this is a responsible process by Poles and the Bears.
