Thanks to some of Shaq Lawson’s own doing, the pass rusher and his former team in the Buffalo Bills have been connected again.
On Wednesday, Lawson took to his social media account via Twitter and expressed a desire to return to the Bills.
As of now, it does not appear that a deal will happen soon. But there is interest.
That report comes via ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler, who said “nothing is imminent” regarding a reunion:
I'm told there's mutual interest in Shaq Lawson returning to Buffalo but nothing is imminent on a deal. Lawson had 6.5 sacks for the Bills in 2019.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 9, 2022
In 2019, Lawson left Buffalo via free agency. His rookie contract had expired. At the time, Lawson did express a desire to come back to Buffalo.
Originally signing with the Miami Dolphins, Lawson was traded to the Houston Texans and then the New York Jets. Prior to their season finale in 2021 against the Bills, the Jets released Lawson.
Since then, Lawson has been a free agent and has yet to sign with a team.
Next week free agency opens in the NFL for players that are currently signed with clubs still. Since Lawson hasn’t been added by a team, he’ll likely be a “secondary” free agent when the market opens.
Once the top-tier players land with teams, clubs will likely start calling Lawson and others when they circle back around. That’s typically how things go during the NFL’s free-agency period.
In his career, 27-year-old hasn’t fully found his footing in the NFL since he was a first-round pick of the Bills in 2016. However, his most successful year was in 2019 in Buffalo. Those 6.5 sacks were a career-high and Lawson has consistently been touted as a strong run defender.
If the Bills do have interest in Lawson, it might come at the expensive of some of their own pending free agents. Jerry Hughes, Mario Addison and Efe Obada are among a group of defensive ends in Buffalo that will hit the open market next week.
It’s hard to imagine the Bills getting all of those players back while also bringing back Lawson. Dust will likely have to settle before some type of concrete offer comes Lawson’s way from the Bills.
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