BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Buffalo Bills star receiver Sammy Watkins is going to spend his second consecutive offseason recovering from surgery for a broken left foot.
The operation took place last week and after team doctors conferred with specialist Robert Anderson, the Bills announced on Friday.
Though the Bills termed the procedure as having gone well, they expect Watkins to be sidelined until the start of training camp in the summer.
Buffalo’s 2014 first-round draft pick had two screws surgically inserted into his left foot in April after tests discovered a stress fracture. He was cleared to practice a few weeks into training camp before complaining of discomfort and soreness.
After playing the first two games of the season, Watkins aggravated the injury when a teammate stepped on his foot during practice. Watkins missed eight games before playing the final six games of the season.
He finished with 28 catches for 430 yards and two touchdowns.
The Bills also announced defensive lineman Shaq Lawson had surgery for a knee injury. Lawson is expected to be cleared in time to participate for offseason activities in the spring.
It’s not clear when Lawson was hurt, and the team did not reveal which knee was repaired.
It’s the second operation for Lawson since Buffalo selected the Clemson pass-rushing specialist with the 19th pick in the draft.
In May, Lawson had surgery for a shoulder injury that had nagged him through much of his college career.
He missed the first six games of the season and finished with two sacks in 10 games.
The Bills are in transition following a 7-9 finish in which they extended the NFL’s longest postseason drought to 17 seasons.
Head coach Rex Ryan was fired in the final week and has since been replaced by former Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott.
The new coach continued adding to his staff by hiring Andrew Dees to serve as an assistant offensive line coach. Dees returns to the Bills after holding the same role during the 2012 season under former coach Chan Gailey. Dees spent the next three seasons as an assistant with the San Diego Chargers.
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