Miami Dolphins closing in on former Bills DE/LB Shaq Lawson

The Miami Dolphins are not wasting much time addressing their needs in free agency and now it appears they are closing in on DE/LB Shaq Lawson.

Signing Shaq Lawson will do two things for the Miami Dolphins, it will address their need for a run-stopping linebacker and edge rusher while also taking a player off the roster of a division rival.

The Dolphins are not messing around and while we are waiting for contract details, it appears that the Dolphins are being what they said they will be, prudent. Miami has all the money in the world but so far they avoiding the top names on the market that many anticipated them pursuing.

Earlier they agreed to a deal with offensive guard Ereck Flowers and while linebacker Kyle Van Noy is on the market, the Dolphins are rolling with a second-tier player instead, or at least for now.

Drafted 19th overall by the Buffalo Bills in the 2016 NFL Draft, Lawson has spent four seasons with Buffalo but he as only started 17 of 50 games that he has appeared in. He has a lot of talent but has not realized his ceiling just yet.

He has 16.5 sacks in his four-year career with his highest total of 6.5 coming last year. He has 108 combine tackles and 25 of those were tackles for loss.

Miami has a big need at defensive end where the roster currently sits with Charles Harris being one of their top players and that is not saying a lot at all. The Dolphins are likely going to add another edge rusher at some point, perhaps in the draft if it plays out correctly.

We will know more about this signing when it becomes official and get a better idea of what the salary structure will be.

UPDATE:

According to James Morris, a writer for the Cincinnati Bengals and NFL.com, the Dolphins have spent another $30 million on a 3-year deal. Guaranteed money was not mentioned.