Buffalo Bills first-round pick Shaq Lawson will suddenly be thrusted into a contract year. The No. 19 overall pick back in 2016, Buffalo decided against picking up the fifth-year option on the pass rusher’s rookie deal.
Having put up a total of 10 sacks in three NFL seasons, it’s not terribly surprising that Buffalo would decide against paying Lawson north of $9 million for the 2020 season.
This means that the Clemson product will have an opportunity to put up a career-best performance in 2019 before hitting the open market next March.
In a vacuum, it’s probably not a bad thing for Lawson. He’s seemingly not a great fit in Buffalo’s defense under coordinator Leslie Frazier.