Shaq Lawson ‘very happy’ he was traded to the Jets

Shaq Lawson beamed during his first press conference as a member of the New York Jets.

Gang Green’s newest defensive end sounded like he felt right at home in New York and couldn’t contain his eagerness to join the team.

“I was very happy when I got traded,” Lawson said Wednesday. “When I found out I was coming up here I was excited.”

Robert Saleh played a big role in Lawson’s enthusiasm. He said he watched Saleh coach in San Francisco the past four seasons and believes he can match Saleh’s sideline energy.

Lawson also believes the Jets defense is a perfect fit for his skill set. His first tweet as a member of the team matched that happiness, too.

Woke up today feeling blessed I can finally be myself up here

— Shaq Lawson (@Shaq_Lawson90) August 31, 2021

“This defense, you don’t gotta go think,” Lawson added. “You can just go attack and be aggressive. It takes the thinking out of football. That’s what I mean by being myself.”

Lawson had flashes during his past five seasons but never broke out after the Bills selected him 19th overall in 2016. He’s wracked up 20.5 sacks over his career, with a season-high of 6.5 in 2019 with Buffalo. Lawson spent the 2020 season with the Dolphins, where he tallied four sacks and 18 quarterback hits before being traded to the Texans in March.

The pass-rush deprived Jets then sent a sixth-round pick to the Texans last week after Carl Lawson’s season-ending injury. This Lawson will likely fill that void or at least play a large role on the defense. But Shaq Lawson said he doesn’t feel the pressure to fill the shoes of the Lawson the Jets recently lost.

“I’m just going to give them the Shaq Lawson version,” he said.