The Bills activated their first round pick today, adding Shaq Lawson to the 53-man roster. He had been on the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list since the beginning of the season.
His recovery from shoulder surgery has gone well enough that the team decided to call him up a week earlier than they had to, since they still had a roster exemption that would have allowed them to wait until next week if they deemed him unable to participate immediately. Knowing this, it is likely that he will not only suit up on Sunday, but play a role during the game.
Rex Ryan was impressed with his week of practice, saying that Lawson “looks pretty darn good out there. So he’s flying around and he looks like the guy that we drafted.” “The guy that they drafted” was profiled by our own Dan Lavoie, and our EIC Chris Trapasso revisited that report earlier today. Lawson will join fellow rookie Adolphus Washington in contributing to what has been a solid front seven for the Bills.
To make room on the roster, the Bills released Gabe Ikard, a guard who had played 11 special teams snaps in two games this season. He had been a healthy scratch since the Arizona game.
The Bills also elevated Manasseh Garner from the practice squad, releasing Gerald Christian to make room on the roster. Garner is a 6’2”, 229-pound tight end who is more of an H-Back, so he serves as insurance for Jerome Felton, whose back injury has limited him this week in practice. Christian appeared for five snaps against the Rams in his only game action with the Bills.