On the first day of free agency this offseason, the Browns only made a few minor moves, such as a trade for Kenny Pickett, along with free agent deals for Maliek Collins, Cornelius Lucas, and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. Pickett was the odd man out in the quarterback room, while Collins and Lucas have played starting roles for the majority of the first two games. Tryon-Shoyinka, on the other hand, has played in just seven snaps with Cleveland.
Browns seem to regret signing DE Joe Tryon-Shoyinka
The Browns acted quickly to get Tryon-Shoyinka and handed him a one-year, $4.75 million contract with $4.19 million guaranteed. It was their smallest deal handed out of the three on the first day of free agency, but there was something about the former first-round pick that made them prioritize him.
With Tampa Bay, Tryon-Shoyinka was a solid rotational piece in his second and third seasons, but he really struggled in his final year under contract. He put up a pass rush win rate of just 8.9 percent, which ranked in the bottom third out of pass rushers with at least 125 pass rush snaps.
Cleveland's defensive line room is one of the best in the league, so it's reasonable that someone could have a hard time finding playing time behind Myles Garrett, Isaiah McGuire, and Alex Wright. Tryon-Shoyinka was signed at a price of a rotational edge, but he was one of the final roster spots and is lower in the pecking order than Cameron Thomas.
Former Browns defensive end Za'Darius Smith was released by the Lions this offseason and signed with the Eagles on a deal worth less than what Tryon-Shoyinka got. Based on how camp and the start of the season have gone for Tryon-Shoyinka, it seems the Browns would have been better off with a veteran like Smith or someone else. However, it's reasonable based on where the team's at to roll the dice on a first-round reclamation project over someone who has little to no future with the team.