Bills' Shaq Lawson: Looking at missed time

General manager Doug Whaley seems to think Lawson will miss part of the regular season, BuffaloBills.com reports. "It's too early in the process, but with everything that we thought going into the surgery, it's safe to say he's going to miss some of the early part of the season," Whaley said Tuesday. "Let's clear the air because I know there's a narrative out there. We were aware of the shoulder, but we wanted to take measures to prevent another flareup during the season.

Analysis:

While Bills fans are now a bit ticked at the way both Lawson and Whaley originally scoffed at Mel Kiper's suggestion that the player would need shoulder surgery, the Bills are taking a long-term approach and still feel they got a player that's going to have a key role. Unless Lawson can somehow hit the season running, however, he's simply going to miss too much acclimation time to the new level to be a worthy IDP option out of the gate.