What role will Shaq Lawson have this season?

What can we expect from former Bill Shaq Lawson this season?

As we all know, the Bills signed their former defensive end Shaq Lawson to a one-year deal this offseason, as he returns to help beef up the defensive line and provide some depth. Defensive line was definitely a focal part of this offseason and we saw that with a lot of the moves that were made to add to it.

Lawson comes back to Buffalo after spending the last two years with divisional rivals (Dolphins and Jets), and he’s now reunited with old buddies Ed Oliver and Jordan Phillips. It’s a great spot for Lawson in his career. He has the opportunity to get his career back on track in the place where it started, and he’ll do so while playing on a defensive line with talent like Von Miller, Greg Rousseau, etc.

Lawson was productive with Buffalo in 2019, as he recorded 32 total tackles and 6.5 sacks that year. He’s now coming home to a familiar stadium, a familiar coach and team, and a familiar fanbase in Bills Mafia.

I, for one, am welcoming Shaq back with open arms as I know he could be play a crucial role in a Super Bowl run. You can never have enough depth on a team that is contending for a title. He’ll not only provide depth but he’ll bring an attitude and feistiness. I know he’ll be amped up and ready to go for Week 1 in LA.

His production in Miami in 2020 was essentially on pace with his numbers in Buffalo, but he had a down year with New York in 2021. He recorded four sacks with the Dolphins and one sack with the Jets. Over his six years in the NFL, he has established himself as a capable rotational pass rusher, and a return to Buffalo could allow him to get back to his old form.

Shaq will be exactly that for this team. He wasn’t brought in to be a three-down lineman or to record double-digit sacks. He was brought in to be a rotational piece along the defensive line. And, he’s more than capable of filling in and making plays if guys go down. His role could change throughout the year depending on how he looks or if guys around him get hurt.

I’m sure we’re all hoping to see Shaq get back up to speed and into the form of how he looked in that 2019 season. And I don’t think that’s farfetched either because he’s rejoining familiar teammates and the same coaching staff. He’ll have the best help he can get and be put in the best position possible to succeed.

We were close to a Lawson signing towards the end of last year right before playoffs. There were rumors going around that the Bills were going to be buyers to add to their defensive line going into the postseason and he was a name on that list. However, the move was eventually never made. But now, he’s home. He is a Buffalo Bill once again and should manage to be a productive player this year for a team with sky-high expectations.

How do you think Lawson’s return to the Bills works out, Bills Mafia?