Jump to content

Shaq Lawson on roster bubble


Recommended Posts

Best case scenario is the best players make the team regardless of draft hype/position.  A lot of GM's hold onto high draft picks so they don't look bad.  This regime can easily move on from him since they did not select him and I would not be surprised if they did at this point.   What will be interesting is seening how they deal with a high round bust....do they move on as quickly as they are willing to move on from Whaley/Ryan picks or will they fall into the common trap.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

48 minutes ago, buffalostu2 said:

I think it is 50/50 he makes it.  50% he makes the team.  50% he gets traded.  0% he gets cut.

 

Agreed.  It might come down to what the team gets offered for him.  He’s not really a good fit now so he’s got to be worth more to another team (where he’s a better scheme fit) than he is to the Bills.  Sooner or later that trade happens. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If they wanted to trade him, I don't think they would be calling him out in the media.  They showcased Watkins before trading him. Dareus also got more praise from Leslie Frazier the last few weeks before he was traded.

Calling him out is either a motivational tool or prepping the fan base for his release.  

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, Dadonkadonk said:

If they wanted to trade him, I don't think they would be calling him out in the media.  They showcased Watkins before trading him. Dareus also got more praise from Leslie Frazier the last few weeks before he was traded.

Calling him out is either a motivational tool or prepping the fan base for his release.  

 

 

Shaq is not being released.

Beane is not taking a 6 million cap hit.

 

Trading him costs 2.8 in a cap hit over this and next year.

It makes his remaining contract very attractive for another club.

Trade team cost for 2018 - 1.4 million

Trade team cost for 2019 - 2.8 million

Both years with no dead cap.

 

Beane would trade him for a 7th before cutting him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, I am the egg man said:

The only thing keeping him here is his 1st. round cap hit.

 

 

No, he's still here because he's a former 1st rounder who has been with the Bills for just 2 seasons, and has only appeared in 21 games for them. 

  • Like (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Irv said:

I hope all of the hype we have read about a new Shaq attitude is on target.  But he just looks so slow to me.  When he's in the game - it's like he's not even there.  He crushed one dude last year I think in Miami in the backfield.  But besides that, he's been a real snoozer.  First round picks who are good at "setting the edge".  Hmmm.  I don't think he makes it.  Sounds like he gets the fact that he could be out of the league.  Hope he makes it but he really looks like another Whaley failure.

 

Lawson last season left a lot to be desired and getting hurt after 11 games does not help his cause much. However, there is no doubt that Shaq will get an honest shot to start on this team. Lorax, Hughes and Murphy will give him a good competition for playing time, they also signed that former Giants 3rd round pick to push him for a backup spot. 

 

There is a lot of competition at the DE position. Outside of Murphy who just signed a big deal I don't think any DE is safe to make the roster. Now it could be that no DE ends up having a good season. But if 1 player could have a "good season" (9ish sacks) and another have a decent season (6.5ish sacks) and 2 other players chip in 4 sacks then the depth will shine through. 

 

The Eagles were built in a similar fashion. They were 16th in the league in pass rush cobbling together 38 sacks with no double-digit sack players (Brandon Graham a former first round pick who hung around as a backup who never was a massive talent until this past season led their team with 9.5 sacks.) The Bills are designed that way in my opinion. It just looks to be 

 

Each player might be flawed but hopefully the new system of play takes advantage of the depth that could complement each player. Shaq and Hughes could stay in on run downs while Lorax and Murphy come in for pass rushing downs. 

1 hour ago, ColoradoBills said:

 

Shaq is not being released.

Beane is not taking a 6 million cap hit.

 

Trading him costs 2.8 in a cap hit over this and next year.

It makes his remaining contract very attractive for another club.

Trade team cost for 2018 - 1.4 million

Trade team cost for 2019 - 2.8 million

Both years with no dead cap.

 

Beane would trade him for a 7th before cutting him.

 

Would any team be willing to trade for him if he isn't lighting it up in camp? Does he have a whole lot of value if he comes off 2 bad seasons and a training camp/pre-season so bad that his team is willing to trade him for a 7th? 

 

If Shaq is really bad I suspect he is more than likely cut. Unless that former third-round pick from the Giants (whose name escapes me at the moment) and the rest of the other 3 DE's outperform Shaq at an amazing level where the Bills are trading Shaq out of luxury.  So in my mind this training camp is it for him do or die.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There was another team that drafted a pass rusher in the first, 31st overall in 2010. They only used him in spot duty, only getting a few starts in his 3 seasons with that team. After not having a ton of success in spot duty, they traded him to another team for a JAG linebacker drafted a year after him. He immediately earned a starting spot, and signed a big contract in 2015, while the linebacker they traded for was sent packing after the 2013 season, and is now out of he league after spending time with several different teams. 

 

Sound familiar? It should. The Colts gave up on Jerry Hughes after 3 limited seasons, and the Bills have been reaping the benefits ever since. I'm not going to say Shaq will enjoy similar success. Only that you don't give up on a 1st round talent entering his 3rd season unless there are serious locker room/effort/injury concerns (the kind that don't heal and will effect his career outlook). As much as I've been disappointed with him so far, he's only been in the league for 2 years. Let's give the guy a chance before moving on. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The older I get, the less I worry about where players on drafted. Experience has taught me that scouting players and projecting their performance must be REALLY hard, or we wouldn’t see so many ‘busts’ and so many late bloomers. These guys are still kids coming out of college. There’s no telling How they’ll adapt to having a full time job, living in a new city, and working with grown men often much older than them. If Shaq makes it...great! If not, fine. My hope is the coaches put the best players on the field...period!

  • Like (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, JohnC said:

I doubt that Buffalo was the only team that cleared him that was interested in him. You are making an assumption based on what? There is no doubt that some teams bypassed him because of the shoulder issue. But that doesn't mean that every team that had an interest in him wasn't willing to select him at what they believed to be a reasonable spot. 

 

Whether he needed an operation or not doesn't bother me too much. What bothered me more is that it should have been done sooner rather than later. When all is said and done having a medical issue in his rookie year isn't the real issue. The issue is can he be a good player in this league now and in the future. That is what we are going to find out in camp. If he can't play at a contributing level he will be moved. While you have already seemed to have made a conclusive judgment on him I have not. 

 

Reports at the time were the at least 6 other teams passed on him for this reason.  How many more teams do you think were considering using their top 1-18 pick on Shaq's position?  It's easy to conclude that every team picking before the Bills passed on Shaq for the medical clearance.

 

As for the timing --sooner when??  The admission that he would, after all, need surgery was announced less than 3 weeks after the draft.

 

It's clear to me that Whaley figured that other teams would pass on his for this reason and he wanted Shaq so badly, he happily took him in the first round thinking "sure, he'll need this surgery ASAP, we will schedule it as soon in the off season as possible (after some 'occurrence'), and he will be ready to go in a few months and he will be a STEAL and I will be seen as a GENIUS!".

 

2 seasons later the fully functional Shaq may not even make the roster because he, with or without an injury/surgery, isn't that good.

 

Whaley's drafting, in a nutshell....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

Reports at the time were the at least 6 other teams passed on him for this reason.  How many more teams do you think were considering using their top 1-18 pick on Shaq's position?  It's easy to conclude that every team picking before the Bills passed on Shaq for the medical clearance.

 

As for the timing --sooner when??  The admission that he would, after all, need surgery was announced less than 3 weeks after the draft.

 

It's clear to me that Whaley figured that other teams would pass on his for this reason and he wanted Shaq so badly, he happily took him in the first round thinking "sure, he'll need this surgery ASAP, we will schedule it as soon in the off season as possible (after some 'occurrence'), and he will be ready to go in a few months and he will be a STEAL and I will be seen as a GENIUS!".

 

2 seasons later the fully functional Shaq may not even make the roster because he, with or without an injury/surgery, isn't that good.

 

Whaley's drafting, in a nutshell....

And that’s why he’s now a “scout” for a college bowl game no one has ever heard of.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...