Buffalo Bills explain decision to draft injured Shaq Lawson

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The Buffalo Bills are taking some criticism for their decision to draft edge rusher Shaq Lawson in the first round, now that it has come to be that his shoulder injury -- which he played with for three years at Clemson without missing a game -- needs to be surgically repaired.

Lawson reportedly tweaked the shoulder during a voluntary practice while making a swim move on a tackling dummy. A few days later, the Bills announced on May 16 that he would undergo surgery because in their view -- even though their medical staff had signed off on it during the draft process - the injury was going to present problems, and it was better to get it done now than wait until after the season.

"The Buffalo Bills are taking measures to prevent the possibility of Shaq Lawson aggravating a pre-existing shoulder condition during the season," general manager Doug Whaley said in a statement released by the team. "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."

Some fans and media are wondering why the Bills picked Lawson, knowing full well that he had a shoulder problem that would potentially need surgery. This was a draft filled with high-end defensive linemen, several of whom were available when it was Buffalo's turn to pick No. 19 overall. Several teams red-flagged Lawson because of the shoulder, part of the reason why he was still available at Buffalo's pick, but the Bills -- most likely led by head coach Rex Ryan who was enamored with the Clemson product -- pressed forward.

Now, he will probably not be available to play until at least early November, and after missing so much time, it's questionable whether he could come back and make a meaningful contribution to a team that really needs its first-rounders to produce immediately.

One of the stinging criticisms levied against the Bills is that with a 16-year playoff drought hanging around their collective necks, they didn't have the luxury of picking a player who probably won't be of much use to them this season. In effect, this is lining up as a redshirt year for Lawson, similar to what Jacksonville went through in 2015 when its first-round pick, edge rusher Dante Fowler, was felled by a knee injury on the first day of a rookie minicamp practice and was lost for the season.

"The best thing for our team is to get this kid at 100 percent and ready to roll for us and that's what we did," said Ryan. "He's going to make a hundred percent recovery from this injury, and at some point he'll be playing and he'll be rolling and every single Bills fan out there will be happy that we drafted him."

Ryan reiterated that Lawson would be practicing right now if he hadn't undergone the surgery last Tuesday. But when he tweaked the shoulder during a drill a couple weeks ago, even though it wasn't something that would have sidelined him, the organization altered its plan. Rather than risk Lawson getting hurt later in spring practice, or in the preseason, which could sideline him for the season, they sent him in for the surgery now to get it done once and for all.

"We could have waited until during the season and then at some point, if we had to go with surgery, he'd be lost for the year," said Ryan. "We took this guy to be a great player for a long time and that's what we think we have when we drafted this guy."

For his part, Lawson admitted he had a shoulder injury, but after being drafted by the Bills, he told reporters, "If I didn't have surgery my freshman year, why would I need surgery now? I can still play ball." It seemed it was his intention to play this season, and perhaps have surgery following the 2016 schedule.

This part of Whaley's statement seemed to insinuate that Lawson didn't want to have surgery, but that he is doing so at the team's behest.

"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," said Whaley. "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."

--Wide receiver Sammy Watkins will miss all of the Bills' offseason program due to foot surgery that was performed about a month ago. This was all very hush-hush as no one outside the team and Watkins' inner circle even knew that he was having his foot operated on, but the news leaked out the same day that the Bills announced rookie Shaq Lawson would be undergoing shoulder surgery.

Watkins, the Bills' injury-prone first-round pick from 2014, has now had eight different injuries during his two years with the Bills, a couple of which forced him to miss playing time. The good news this time is that he will probably be able to participate -- at least in a minimal role -- during training camp and preseason, and barring a setback, be ready to play in the season opener at Baltimore Sept 11.

"Sammy's not going to miss any time," head coach Rex Ryan said, meaning the start of the regular season. "By the time the regular season comes around, Sammy Watkins is not going to miss any time. He'll be ready to go, there's no doubt."

--Cornerback Stephone Gilmore is not present for the first week of the Bills' OTA schedule, and there's a chance he's not going to be in Buffalo until the mandatory minicamp June 14-16 as his agent and the team work toward a long-term contract extension. The Bills picked up the fifth-year option on Gilmore's original rookie deal, so he's making about $11 million this season, but after seeing the free-agent contracts signed by Janoris Jenkins with the Giants (five years, $62.5 million) and Josh Norman with the Redskins (five years, $75 million), Gilmore is looking for a whole lot more.

Before Norman's record deal for a cornerback, the Jenkins contract seemed to be the starting point for Gilmore. Gilmore was a 2012 first-rounder, and Jenkins was selected by the Rams 29 picks later midway through the second round. Neither player has made a Pro Bowl, but both have been four-year starters and they have similar statistics in terms of tackles, passes defensed, and interceptions.