The Buffalo Bills did not directly replace former first-round pick Shaq Lawson with second-round rookie AJ Epenesa. But a recent headline from western New York involving the two did catch the former Bill’s eye.
The Buffalo News consulted analyst Greg Cosell from ESPN’s NFL Matchup for some insight on Epenesa. The BN’s Jason Wolf quoted Cosell’s analysis on Epenesa on social media via Twitter and that included a reference to Lawson, who the pass rusher saw.
Cosell said Epenesa is “probably a better version of Shaq Lawson,” which is naturally something the former Bill would take offense to, and he did just that on his own Twitter page. In an effort to pump the brakes on the analysis, Lawson questioned it by putting question out there of his own:
Lol we going see if he got that dog in him https://t.co/CJkG12Dr57
— Shaq Lawson (@Shaq_Lawson90) July 13, 2020
Lawson left the Bills this offseason and signed with the Dolphins via a three-year deal worth $30 million. With the Bills, Lawson never reached the levels some hoped he would, but the Dolphins are betting that he can do just that in South Beach.
While in Buffalo, Lawson started his career under former Bills coach Rex Ryan and his defense. Lawson eventually went on record to say he wasn’t exactly comfortable with Ryan’s defense during his 2016 rookie season. He also struggled with shoulder issues before the draft as well.
By 2017, the Bills hired their current head coach in Sean McDermott. In his defense, the D-line notoriously plays in a rotation. Lawson had a career-high 6.5 sacks last season, but played in far fewer snaps than he’ll probably play in with the Dolphins next season. Some simple connecting the dots and you can see why the Dolphins felt the roll of the dice on Lawson could be worth it.
In regard to the Bills, as mentioned, it wasn’t just Epenesa coming in to replace Lawson. In fact, it’s not the case much at all. Epenesa will have a chance to grow behind the likes of veterans. Jerry Hughes returns while Mario Addison and Quinton Jefferson join the rotation. There’s also Trent Murphy to consider.
While the Bills and Lawson did go their separate ways, there’s no real slight against each other in the way things went down. But don’t expect Lawson to think that twice a year over the next three seasons when he takes on his former team. That’s just natural.
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