The Buffalo Bills announced on Monday that their first-round pick, Clemson defensive end Shaq Lawson, will have "preemptive shoulder surgery" on Tuesday.

"The Buffalo Bills are taking measures to prevent the possibility of Shaq Lawson aggravating a pre-existing shoulder condition during the season," the team said in a statement on its official website. "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. He had an occurrence of the condition last week, but that would not preclude him from participating in the offseason program. Shaq is scheduled for surgery tomorrow on his shoulder with a rehabilitation program to follow. A timetable for his return is still being established.

"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. 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," general manager Doug Whaley added.

The Bills had previously insisted that Lawson's shoulder was fine and was given approval by the team's medical staff.

In the wake of the surgery's announcement, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that multiple teams believed Lawson could need 4-6 months to recover (as he had reported soon after Lawson was first drafted by the Bills), while NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that Lawson could begin the season on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. Doing so would ensure that Lawson could not play until at least eight weeks into the season.

Shaq Lawson's shoulder surgery could force him to miss the start of the season. USATSI