# Carl Lawson (American football)

Carl Lawson (born June 29, 1995) is an American professional football defensive end who is currently a free agent. He played college football for the Auburn Tigers.

## Early life

Lawson attended Milton High School in Milton, Georgia. He had 87 tackles and 15 sacks as a junior and 78 tackles and 27 sacks his senior year. Lawson was a consensus five-star recruit and was ranked among the top recruits in his class. He committed to Auburn University to play college football.

## College career

As a true freshman at Auburn in 2013, Lawson had 20 tackles and four sacks. He missed his sophomore year in 2014 due to a torn ACL. In 2015, Lawson played in only seven games in his junior season due to injuries, recording 17 tackles and one sack.

## Professional career

Pre-draft measurables :
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press |
| 6 ft 1+3⁄4 in (1.87 m) | 261 lb (118 kg) | 31+1⁄2 in (0.80 m) | 10+3⁄8 in (0.26 m) | 4.67 s | 1.60 s | 2.67 s | 4.19 s | 7.46 s | 33.0 in (0.84 m) | 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) | 35 reps |
| All values from NFL Combine ||||||||||||

### Cincinnati Bengals

Lawson was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round, 116th overall, in the 2017 NFL draft. He played in all 16 games with one start, recording 16 tackles and 8.5 sacks. His 8.5 sacks finished second on the team behind Geno Atkins' 9.0 and first among all rookies, earning him a spot on the Pro Football Writers of America All-Rookie Team.
In 2018, Lawson played in eight games before suffering a season-ending torn ACL in Week 8. He was placed on injured reserve on November 5, 2018.

### New York Jets

On March 18, 2021, Lawson signed a three-year, $45 million contract with the New York Jets.
On August 19, 2021, during a joint practice with the Green Bay Packers, Lawson went down with an apparent left leg injury. An MRI later confirmed that Lawson had suffered a ruptured Achilles’ tendon in his left leg, ending his 2021 season.

### Dallas Cowboys

On August 19, 2024, Lawson signed with the Dallas Cowboys. He was released on August 27, and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on October 9.

## NFL career statistics

Legend :
| Bold | Career high |

### Regular season

| Year | Team | Games | Games | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Fumbles | Fumbles | Fumbles | Fumbles |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sack | Sfty | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | Yds | TD |
| 2017 | CIN | 16 | 1 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 8.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | CIN | 7 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | CIN | 12 | 2 | 23 | 17 | 6 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | CIN | 16 | 11 | 36 | 18 | 18 | 5.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | NYJ | 0 | 0 | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury |
| 2022 | NYJ | 17 | 17 | 33 | 18 | 15 | 7.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 2023 | NYJ | 6 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | Career | 74 | 31 | 119 | 69 | 50 | 27.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 |