Getty Shaq Lawson #90 of the Buffalo Bills celebrates after a play vs. the Cleveland Browns at Ford Field on November 20, 2022.
A little social media venting wasn’t enough to keep Shaq Lawson from rejoining the Buffalo Bills.
The veteran defensive end announced on April 10 that he is re-signing with the team on a one-year deal. The move comes a little more than a week after the free-agent Lawson took to social media to take an apparent dig at the team’s offer to him.
Shaq Lawson Spoke Out on Negotiations
Lawson had hinted at some tension in negotiations with the team, taking to Twitter on March 29 to post what fans interpreted as a cryptic dig at their offer to him. After posting a series of laugh/crying emoji, some Bills fans expressed concern and one guessed that Bills general manager Brandon Beane made a lowball contract offer to Lawson.
“Beane offered him a bag of chips and a gatorade for one year of his services,” the fan tweeted.
Lawson clicked “like” on the fan’s tweet, stirring speculation that he was not close to returning to the team.
Bills re-signing DE Shaq Lawson to a one-year deal. (via @MikeGarafolo)
The defensive end came to the Bills as a first-round draft pick in 2016 and appeared in 50 games over the next four seasons before joining the Miami Dolphins in free agency. After another season with the Jets, Lawson returned to the Bills in 2022.
Lawson was a key member of the defensive line rotation for the Bills last season, registering 3.5 sacks and nine quarterback hits with 31 tackles in 15 games, including six starts.
Lawson had previously made it clear that he wanted to be back in Buffalo, telling Spectrum News Buffalo last November that it was a mistake to join the Dolphins.
“It’s home,” Lawson said of the Bills. “Coach McDermott let me be my dog. That’s big with me. Let me be myself. Me, I can’t fake it. If I got to fake it for you it’s going to be hard for me. McDermott just let me be myself. Once he came to me when I signed back and said ‘Be yourself. Be that dog you used to be.’ Once I got that, that okay to say so, it just opened my game up and made me feel more comfortable. I still got it. I haven’t lost it yet.”
Bills Bring Back Defensive Players
Lawson is the latest defensive free agent to return to the Bills this offseason. Beane has brought back a number of key pieces, including safety Jordan Poyer who previously made remarks hinting that he would be moving on to another team.
The Bills also brought back defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, who like Lawson has had several stints with the team. Lawson played for the Bills from 2018 to 2019, then returned in 2022 after spending two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals.
Beane has managed to keep the core of the defense mostly intact despite working under some fiscal restraints, with the team tight against the salary cap. The Bills earned praise for Poyer’s contract in particular, as Buffalo News reporter Ryan O’Halloran noted that the veteran safety signed for a two-year deal worth $12.5 million with $7 million guaranteed. With incentives, the total compensation of Poyer’s deal could reach $14.5 million.
The contract earned some high marks from insiders.
“Wow,” tweeted WGR 550 host Nate Geary in response to O’Halloran’s tweet sharing details of the deal.