Buffalo Bills: Shaq Lawson living on borrowed time?
By Paul Taylor
The belief is Shaq Lawson isn’t a good fit for Sean McDermott’s team and the Buffalo Bills will attempt to trade the defensive end ahead of the new season.
We recently wrote about how Shaq Lawson still has a lot to prove. Despite initially looking like an excellent pick for the Buffalo Bills back in 2016, he has yet to live up to his potential.
For his part, Lawson appears to have applied a new mindset, in order to show what he is truly capable of. Since returning from an ankle injury, he has been eating right and doing everything expected by a pro to be successful.
In theory, the 24-year-old has all the necessary attributes to succeed in Buffalo. In fact, Erik Turner of Cover1 is convinced he is the ideal base end in defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier’s 4-3 scheme.
However, there are others who are not so convinced, either by his improved attitude or ability to flourish in Buffalo. This includes Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News.
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Carucci does not buy Lawson’s apparent turnaround in attitude and approach. In addition, he does not believe the player is even close to being a good fit on Sean McDermott’s team.
As far as Carucci is concerned, the defensive end is living on borrowed time in Western New York. Another media analyst who has similar thoughts, is ESPN’s Mike Rodak.
From Rodak’s perspective, Lawson is at least competing for a rotational role on the team, if not a place on the 53-man roster entirely. So how is this all going to play out?
In an ideal world, the Bills would apparently like to trade the 2016 19th overall draft pick, in order to get something of value for him. However, the general consensus is that teams won’t bite.
After all, why give up something for Lawson, if you’re confident the Bills will eventually just release him? At that point, teams can pick him up for nothing, i.e. at no risk, and take a gamble on a player who has the talent level to succeed at the NFL level, at least under the right circumstances.
From our perspective, we’re not ready to give up on the Lake Wylie, South Carolina native just yet. Despite the reservations of Carucci and others, he deserves time to prove whether or not he has indeed turned around his approach.
If this is the case, Lawson can — theoretically at least — prove all the doubters wrong. Certainly, it would be a shame if his talent goes to waste.
Of course, there’s a multitude of examples of supremely talent players who dominate at the college level, but don’t put in the hard work needed to succeed as a professional. Pure and simple, it’s up to Lawson to avoid adding himself to the list of disappointments.
Next: Is Lorenzo Alexander finished in Buffalo?
What’s your take on Lawson? Do you believe he can still succeed with the Buffalo Bills, or is it time for him to move on? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.