Bills rookie Shaq Lawson will undergo shoulder surgery
The Buffalo Bills announced Monday that pass-rusher Shaq Lawson, their first-round pick in this year's draft, will undergo surgery on his right shoulder Tuesday.
The club released the following statement:
The Buffalo Bills are taking measures to prevent the possibility of Shaq Lawson aggravating a pre-existing shoulder condition during the season. While he could continue to play, the Bills medical staff has determined that surgery is the best course of action for the overall health of his shoulder moving forward. He had an occurrence of the condition last week, but that would not preclude him from participating in the offseason program. Shaq is scheduled for surgery tomorrow on his shoulder with a rehabilitation program to follow. A timetable for his return is still being established.
The Bills have been insistent since drafting Lawson that he wouldn't require surgery, but according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, many teams before the draft believed the 21-year-old needed to undergo a procedure that would sideline him for four-to-six months.
Multiple teams took Lawson off their draft boards due to concerns over his shoulder, a source told The Buffalo News' Tyler Dunne.
The loss of Lawson for any portion of the season would be a blow to Buffalo, as the team attempts to reignite its pass rush, which regressed into one of the worst in the league last season.
Lawson will likely head to the team's physically unable to perform (PUP) list for the start of training camp, and could potentially stay on it for the start of the regular season, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
"I want to take this opportunity to commend Shaq Lawson and his representatives for putting the team first by having this surgery on his shoulder done now," general manager Doug Whaley said in a statement. "By doing so, he's forsaking personal goals to be 100 percent healthy when we will need him most during the regular season. Fans constantly hear us say that we want players with tremendous character who keep team goals ahead of personal ones and Shaq is a great example of this."