Getty Buffalo Bills defensive end Shaq Lawson.
Through 3 weeks of the 2024 NFL regular season, no team has been worse at rushing the passer than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who find themselves in dead last out of 32 teams with just 2.0 sacks.
Any sort of influx of talent — any sort of change — could help Tampa Bay at this point.
Part of that change could be bringing in free-agent talent like veteran edge rusher Shaq Lawson, a former first-round draft pick who Sharp Football Analysis currently has ranked as the No. 2 available player at his position.
Lawson played 16 games with the Buffalo Bills in 2023 and was the No. 19 overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft out of Clemson.
“Lawson hasn’t delivered impressive statistics since the 2019 season (6.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss), but he has shown an ability to contribute as a rotational player,” Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox wrote on Sept. 27. “With the Buffalo Bills last season, he tallied a sack, 10 quarterback pressures and two tackles for loss while playing just 33 percent of the defensive snaps. The 30-year-old has recorded at least 3.5 sacks in five of his eight seasons, most recently in 2022.”
The Buccaneers are 2-1 after suffering their first loss of the season in Week 3, falling 26-7 to the Denver Broncos at home. They face the visiting Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 29.
Lawson Went From All-American to 1st Round Pick
Lawson had a total of 7.5 sacks through his first 2 seasons as a backup at Clemson before becoming a full-time starter in 2015, when he had a breakout season with 12.5 sacks on the way to being named a consensus All-American.
His play that season propelled him to the first round of the NFL draft, where the Bills selected him at No. 19 overall and signed him. to a 4-year, $10.275 million contract.
Lawson battled injuries through his first 4 seasons in Buffalo, missing a total of 14 regular-season games and missing the postseason in both 2016 and 2017. The Bills declined his fifth-year option before the 2019 season and Lawson responded with his best season as a pro with career highs in sacks (6.5), TFL (13) and QB hits (18) despite making zero starts in 15 games.
His play in 2019 led to a 3-year, $30 million free-agent contract with the Miami Dolphins. Lawson was traded twice in the next 2 years — first to the Houston Texans and then to the New York Jets. After the Jets waived him following the 2021 season, Lawson played on 1-year contracts with the Bills in 2022 and 2023.
Through 8 seasons, Lawson has 26.0 career sacks and $34.4 million in career earnings.
Buccaneers’ Pass-Rush Woes Stretch Far and Wide
Tampa Bay’s leading pass rusher from 2023, outside linebacker YaYa Diaby, has yet to register a sack in 2024. NFL All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. was second on the team with 6.0 sacks in 2023 and has missed the last 2 games after sustaining a foot injury in a Week 1 win over the Washington Commanders.
The Buccaneers tried to add depth at edge rusher in the offseason by signing veteran Randy Gregory to a 1-year, $5 million contract but Gregory pulled the rare no-call, no-show after signing.
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Former $30 Million Edge Rusher Could Help Buccaneers