Since early in the 2021 season, a popular refrain amongst fans and media has been for the Bucs to play outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka more often. That cry has only grown louder after Tryon-Shoyinka impressed in two starts while Jason Pierre-Paul was injured. The rookie picked up two sacks against New England in Week 4, often winning one-on-one.

But since Pierre-Paul has returned to the lineup in Week 5, Tryon-Shoyinka’s role has diminished significantly. Some decrease was expected, but the Bucs’ first round pick has played 17 and 19 snaps over the past two games. That would make more sense if Pierre-Paul was healthy, but that isn’t the case either. The veteran has played with a club on his injured right hand, which has severely impacted his level of play.

Against Miami, Pierre-Paul missed three tackles and struggled to get off blocks. In Week 6, Pierre-Paul managed a sack, but it was more a product of Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts than anything the outside linebacker did. Through six games, Tryon-Shoyinka has 12 pressures to Pierre-Paul’s eight. The Washington product has the edge in sacks too, with two takedowns to one. The disparity exists despite Tryon-Shoyinka receiving 46 less pass rush snaps.

Bucs OLB Jason Pierre-Paul – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Listening to head coach Bruce Arians, don’t expect anything to change.

“He’s playing plenty,” Arians said of Tryon-Shoyinka. “He had 20 snaps (technically, 19). JPP (Jason Pierre-Paul) has got a bigger résumé, and a better one. Joe just keeps growing as a player. He played well last night, he had 20 opportunities.”

There has been some conversation that Tryon-Shoyinka’s run defense is keeping him off the field. There were one or two negative run defense reps in Week 5 against Miami, but how much have those really impacted the team? Also, Tryon-Shoyinka has grown significantly as a run defender since the preseason. And Pierre-Paul has been a shell of himself in run defense since returning from injury. The struggle to get off blocks with one functioning hand is very real.

In addition, Tryon-Shoyinka gives the Bucs a more athletic defender to chase down more mobile quarterbacks. That was helpful against Hurts a few times, and it’ll be helpful against Justin Fields in Week 7. However, Arians doesn’t seem to agree.

“Not really,” Arians said when asked if Tryon-Shoyinka gives the Bucs a more athletic option than Pierre-Paul. “Jason’s pretty strong. There’s a lot more than just rushing the passer.”

Per Pro Football Focus, Pierre-Paul is having by far the worst season of his career. He’s carrying a 46.2 overall grade (out of 100) into Week 7. By contrast, Tryon-Shoyinka has a more respectable 60 grade, which would be much higher if not for four missed tackles. Both outside linebackers can play better, but only one of them has the upside and the health to be a smart bet to do so moving forward.