Report: Packers Encouraged To Sign Shaq Lawson After Trading Preston Smith

The Green Bay Packers are on a bye this week. They are 6-3 to start the 2024 NFL season and it will be interesting to see how they finish during the 2024 NFL season. On Tuesday during the NFL Trade Deadline, the only move that general manager Brian Gutekunst made was trading away Preston Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a seventh-round draft pick.

With Green Bay moving off of, it means that Lukas Van Ness could play more often or they could go sign free-agent defensive end Shaq Lawson. It will be interesting to see how the Packers’ defense looks after trading Smith.

Dairylandexpress.com Writer Brian Sampson Thinks That the Green Bay Packers Should Sign Shaq Lawson To the 53-Man Roster

Dairylandexpress.com writer Brian Sampson wrote about three different moves that the Packers should make after Preston Smith was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers. One of the moves he thinks that they should make is to sign Shaq Lawson to the 53-man roster.

Lawson played with the Buffalo Bills last season. Sampson said about why Green Bay should make this move:

“With Smith out of the picture, the Packers could benefit from adding a proven veteran to round out their defensive end rotation. While they’re leaning toward a youth movement opposite Rashan Gary, bringing in a player like Shaq Lawson would provide stability and situational experience to a position group that’s still finding its footing.

Lukas Van Ness, the former first-round pick, is set to take on a bigger role, stepping into Smith’s former starting spot. While his physical attributes are undeniable, Van Ness is still raw, lacking the technical polish needed to be a consistent disruptor.

He’ll be joined by Kingsley Enagbare, who has shown flashes of playmaking ability but doesn’t quite have Van Ness’s athletic upside. Both players will have ample opportunity to prove themselves, but they’re young, and the Packers may need more depth to keep everyone fresh as the season grinds on.

That’s where Shaq Lawson could fit in. The veteran defensive end has 26 career sacks and experience in a rotational role, having been a reliable situational pass rusher in his stops with Buffalo, Miami, and the New York Jets. Lawson isn’t a game-changer, but he’s capable of providing a spark on clear passing downs. His 6.5-sack peak season in 2019 showed his potential to be disruptive in the right circumstances.”

Shaq Lawson is already 30 years old and the Green Bay Packers are a team that is trying to win a Super Bowl this season. Despite the aggressive nature of the Packers’ defense, they need to add more help in the pass-rushing department.

Need More Sacks

The leader for sacks this season on the Green Bay Packers roster is defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt with three. Adding Shaq Lawson to the roster would help Green Bay out in that department. They have been forcing turnovers on the back end this year, but they don’t put enough pressure on the quarterback.

If they were not to sign Shaq Lawson, they need to do something or just hope that Lukas Van Ness or others step up for the remainder of the 2024 NFL season. It will be something worth watching because they traded away Preston Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a seventh-round NFL draft pick.