New defensive end Joe Tryon-Shoyinka trying to get used to new surroundings

Joe Tryon-Shoyinka is still learning his teammates after signing with the Browns in March.He's also learning from them. And not just on the field.The 6-foot-5, 260-pound defensive end recently got engaged to Hayley, and the happy couple is expecting a baby Dec. 18."I'm picking brains in the locker room, seeing how dudes raise their kids certain ways, how they just split the house duties up with their wives, and then how they handle being away from their families when they're on the road and when they travel, stuff like that," Tryon-Shoyinka told The Chronicle-Telegram after a recent training camp practice. "Just learning how to manage a new chapter of my life from being a single man."That's been the next big thing for me, just trying to move on to that next chapter of life, just growing up and maturing."Tryon-Shoyinka, 26, did the interview with Hayley sitting a couple of feet away on a couch. She didn't appear to be listening when he was asked the best advice he's received."Your wife is right. She's always right," he said.Another trusted source of information is his mom, Andrea, who raised him by herself."She's trying to give the advice when she can," Tryon-Shoyinka said. "She knows that she's going to be a grandma. She's very excited. She's sending all the baby clothes, this and that. She's not too pushy, so I'm thankful for her on that."They haven't set a date for the wedding, but Hayley is going to stay with Tryon-Shoyinka in Northeast Ohio during the season. That's vital during the pregnancy and should help as Tryon-Shoyinka makes the transition after spending the first four years of his career in Tampa. He was the No. 32 pick of the 2021 draft out of the University of Washington."Learning the team identity, trying to figure out where I can place my knowledge and my wisdom and my experience and where I could just continue to learn and grow," he said. "My new teammates, they all got a bunch of years. We got a bunch of vets that played in meaningful games, so kind of just picking and choosing what I could take from them. And especially on the offensive side, we coexist. So in the locker room defensive linemen are chatting up with the offensive linemen, chatting up with the tight ends, trying to figure out what they're doing to neutralize our moves and we're trying to give 'em the same exact knowledge so we can just sharpen each other."The Browns didn't make any splash moves in free agency, but signing Tryon-Shoyinka to a one-year, $4.75 million deal was one of the first and most important. They value pass rushers, viewed him as an upgrade over Ogbo Okoronkwo and hope he can take advantage of all the attention paid to All-Pro Myles Garrett on the opposite edge.Tryon-Shoyinka is in a battle for playing time and pass rushing opportunities as the preseason concludes today against the Rams. Alex Wright (third round, 2022) and Isaiah McGuire (fourth round, 2023) were draft picks of general manager Andrew Berry, Julian Okwara was signed as a free agent in the offseason, Cameron Thomas was claimed off waivers in November and K.J. Henry claimed off waivers from the Eagles on July 23.Coordinator Jim Schwartz raved about the depth, saying not everyone will make the team but they'll all play in the NFL this season. The Browns could use the surplus to swing a trade for a cornerback, linebacker or running back."We have great competition at defensive end in particular," Schwartz said. "We have got a lot of guys that have started a lot of games in the NFL. All those guys are going to play in the NFL and it's going to make us better."Tryon-Shoyinka didn't hesitate when asked if it feels like a competition for playing time."Hell yeah. Hell yeah," he said. "We all try to be on that field, man. You feel it in the air, but we're all brothers at the end of the day, we all got the same goals. And when you have like-minded players like that, it's going to only push you to be better than you were yesterday. Because you know how hard they're going to be going, too. You don't want to be the one that's left out of the fun, bro."He's driven to be the one lining up opposite Garrett in the starting lineup."It would definitely mean a lot," Tryon-Shoyinka said. "Those are the things that show how much trust that they have in you, how much you've shown throughout training camp, OTAs, those months that you've got to learn the coaches and your teammates. So ultimately you want to be that guy, but we're all going to be contributing. I see a huge role in everyone on the defensive line and everyone's going to need to be a part of it to have success."He was used as an outside linebacker in Tampa Bay's 3-4 scheme and embraced the opportunity to be a 4-3 end in Schwartz's attacking system. In four years with the Buccaneers, he started 45 of 66 games, totaling 15 sacks, 35 quarterback hits, 138 tackles, 21 for loss, eight passes defensed, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He had two sacks in 15 games last year."It's fun," he said of the switch to end. "And when they're expecting us to make the plays and they're asking us to make the plays, what do we got to do? We got to answer to that sh**. So it's been a lot, but I think it's going to go well this year."He sees his role as a penetrator who messes up stuff — expletives deleted — like Schwartz asks. He brings height that makes him easy to spot among 90 players on the practice field."Tackles, they're pretty massive, so you got to be able to match their wingspan and their reach and it allows you to get into their frame and get leverage and use different pass rush moves and just manipulate them," Tryon-Shoyinka said. "You got to learn how to use your hands when they're longer. You got to be more efficient when you have longer arms, because your joints, you got to work on your stability."Coach Kevin Stefanski likes the dynamic he brings."You see the skill set. You see big, long, speed," Stefanski said. "He can really run, he can really bend and he's got great length. So those are great traits to have when you're talking about coming out of a three-point stance or a two-point stance. But football's football, whether you're in a 3-4 scheme or a four-down scheme, he's a good football player."Garrett appreciates the addition."He's quick, he's explosive and he works hard," he said. "This is the first time he's been asked to really rush this much, so I think he's really been up for the challenge and he's really adapted to the new role pretty quickly. Now we've just got to get all the moves set, defined and crystal clear, but right now I think he's really trending in the right direction."The post New defensive end Joe Tryon-Shoyinka trying to get used to new surroundings first appeared on BrownsZone with Scott Petrak.