Shaq Lawson has watched from afar what the Buffalo Bills have built over the past two years.
Seeing that, he said Wednesday, made it an easy decision to want to come back.
The Bills re-signed Lawson, their former first-round draft pick who spent four years with the team from 2016-19, to a one-year deal last week, reuniting him with head coach Sean McDermott and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier.
“It was a special place before I left, and I didn’t want to leave at all,” Lawson said on a video conference call. “I just made a family decision, so when I had the opportunity to come back, this team has been special since I left. ... The defense being No. 1, watching from the other side, it’s just been like, ‘Man, I’ve been missing something special.’ ”
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It’s understandable why Lawson left. The three-year contract the Miami Dolphins gave him was valued at up to $30 million -- life-changing money. Lawson found out, however, that while the money was greener, the grass was not.
After playing in a career-best 15 games in 2019 for the Bills and finishing with a single-season high 6.5 sacks, Lawson didn’t find a similar level of success with Miami. He played in 14 games in 2020 and finished with 32 tackles and four sacks, but lasted just one season with the Dolphins.
Miami traded him to Houston almost exactly a year ago, and then before the start of the 2021 season, Lawson was traded again – this time from Houston to the New York Jets.
“It wasn't really humbling. It was just, you got to find the right situation for me,” Lawson said. “At Miami, I was really out of position, so I got traded from there. In Houston, things didn't work out and stuff like that, so that's how that ended up playing out. Everything happens for a reason ... for me to get back over here and be a Buffalo Bill, so I just kept it all in God's hands.”
Lawson will be reunited with more than just McDermott and Frazier with the Bills. Defensive tackle Jordan Phillips is also back with the team. Like Lawson, he left after the 2019 season, but he’s stayed close with several of his current and former teammates.
“He played a major part of me coming back,” Lawson said of Phillips. “It's always great to go back with a guy you know, bringing a lot of energy to it. You know, me and Jordan bring a lot of energy to the defensive side. We get the crowd into it and everything like that.”
Lawson, 27, is entering his seventh NFL season, so it’s not as if he’s over the hill. He’s also excited to once again be a part of a defensive scheme that he believes fits his strengths.
“This defense fits me well because it's an attack defense. It's a four-down front,” Lawson said. “When I left here, I went back to an outside linebacker. So getting back to more comfortable things I'm doing. Coach Frazier and those guys know me well. They know how I play and things like that. They know what I'm good at.”
Lawson is also thrilled to not have to defend against Bills quarterback Josh Allen anymore.
“Man, his game, it's crazy. He was great when I was there, but he's your franchise quarterback,” he said “The guy is going to win a Super Bowl here. It's just been crazy to watch him because I just remember the time we played him in Miami -- it was probably Week 2 -- and he made like three guys miss. It was like Kyle Van Noy, Emmanuel Ogbah and me too. And I was like, `Oh yeah, his game's done changed to another level.'
Lawson figures to compete for a rotational spot at defensive end. The Bills have four players who should be considered safe bets to make the roster at the position – Von Miller, Greg Rousseau, Boogie Basham and A.J. Epenesa – so Lawson won’t be guaranteed a job.
“I'm here trying to learn from those guys,” he said. “Especially a guy like Von, a guy that won a couple Super Bowls. … When I seen Von came, I'm like, 'All right, that's a guy I can learn some pass-rush moves from. He can develop me as a pass rusher, just learning the game from him, because he's one of the best to do it.' Those young guys is playing great, too. I like all of them. Whatever they find my role, I'm going to bring that junk-dog mentality out. You know, play the run. Things like that, so whatever they want me to do. It's a great group of guys.”
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While Lawson said hello again to the Western New York media Wednesday, the Bills said goodbye to a defensive end from their 2021 roster as Efe Obada agreed to a contract with the Washington Commanders.
Obada, 29, played in 10 games for the Bills last season, making 12 tackles and 3.5 sacks. Terms of Obada’s deal with the Commanders were not released.
The Bills also lost defensive tackle Vernon Butler Jr. on Tuesday. Butler signed with the Las Vegas Raiders after spending the past two years with the Bills. A former first-round draft pick of the Carolina Panthers, Butler has played in 76 career games, with 19 starts – 10 of which came with the Bills – and has made 106 tackles, eight sacks, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
He became expendable after the Bills signed Phillips and defensive tackles DaQuan Jones and Tim Settle last week as free agents.
