Lavar Edwards

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = Lavar Edwards

| image =

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption =

| current_team =

| number = 98, 95, 76, 93, 92

| position = Defensive end

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1990|4|29|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Gretna, Louisiana, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 4

| weight_lbs = 277

| high_school = Desire Street Academy
(Baton Rouge, Louisiana)

| college = LSU

| draftyear = 2013

| draftround = 5

| draftpick = 142

| pastteams =

Tennessee Titans ({{NFL Year|2013}})
Dallas Cowboys ({{NFL Year|2014}})
Oakland Raiders ({{NFL Year|2015}})*
Chicago Bears ({{NFL Year|2015}})
Dallas Cowboys ({{NFL Year|2015}})*
Buffalo Bills ({{NFL Year|2015}})
Carolina Panthers ({{NFL Year|2016}})
Indianapolis Colts ({{NFL Year|2016}})
Cleveland Browns ({{NFL Year|2017}})
Saskatchewan Roughriders ({{CFL Year|2018}}–{{CFL Year|2019}})

| highlights =

| statlabel1 = Total tackles

| statvalue1 = 23

| statlabel2 = Sacks

| statvalue2 = 2.0

| pfr = EdwaLa00

}}

Lavar M. Edwards (born April 29, 1990) is an American former professional football defensive end. He played college football for the LSU Tigers. He was selected by the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL) in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL draft.

Early life

Edwards attended Desire Street Academy high school. He was ranked among the top 40 prospects in the state of Louisiana by Rivals.com.{{Cite web |title=Lavar Edwards LSU Tigers profile |url=http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=1382561 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908142840/http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=1382561 |archive-date=September 8, 2013 |website=lsusports.net}} During high school, He was named to the Baton Rouge Advocate's Super Dozen.

{{College athlete recruit entry

| recruit = Lavar Edwards

| position = Defensive end

| hometown = Baton Rouge, Louisiana

| highschool = Desire Street Academy

| feet = 6

| inches = 4

| weight = 300

| 40 = 4.9
(According to Scouts.com)

| commitdate = January 26, 2008

| scout stars = 3

| rivals stars = 3

}}

{{College athlete recruit end

| 40 = yes

| year = 2008

| rivals ref title = 2008 LSU Football Commitments

| scout ref title = 2008 LSU Football Recruiting Commits

| rivals school = lsu

| scout s = 107

| scout overall = 23 (TE)

| rivals overall = 42 (DE), 33 (Louisiana)

| accessdate =

}}

College career

He accepted a scholarship to play at Louisiana State University for coach Les Miles's LSU Tigers football team from 2009 to 2012. In his last two years, he played defensive end behind Barkevious Mingo and Sam Montgomery.

He finished his college career with a total of 96 tackles, 10.5 sacks, two interceptions and two forced fumbles.{{Cite web |title=Lavar Edwards LSU Statistics |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/lavar-edwards-1.html |website=sports-reference.com/}} On January 25, 2013, he was selected to participate in the 2013 Senior Bowl.{{Cite web |title=Russell Shepard, Lavar Edwards Set for Senior Bowl |url=http://www.sportsnola.com/sports/lsu/592010-russell-shepard-lavar-edwards-set-for-senior-bowl.html |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204014929/http://sportsnola.com/sports/lsu/592010-russell-shepard-lavar-edwards-set-for-senior-bowl.html |archive-date=February 4, 2013 |access-date=January 25, 2013 |website=sportsnola.com}}

Professional career

{{NFL predraft

| height ft = 6

| height in = 4

| weight = 277

| dash = 4.80

| ten split =

| twenty split =

| shuttle =

| cone drill =

| vertical = 33.0

| broad ft = 119

| broad in = 0

| bench =

| wonderlic =

| arm span = 35 1/2

| hand span = 10

| note = All values from the NFL Combine[http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/lavar-edwards?id=2539938 Lavar Edwards NFL Combine profile]

}}

=Tennessee Titans=

Edwards was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the fifth round (142nd overall) of the 2013 NFL draft, with the intention of playing defensive end in defensive coordinator Jerry Gray's 4-3 defense.{{Cite web |title=2013 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2013/draft.htm |access-date=May 15, 2023 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} As a rookie, he was inactive for nine games, played in 7 contests (one start), while registering 10 tackles, one tackle for loss, one quarterback pressure and a pass defensed.

The next year defensive coordinator Ray Horton was hired to change the defense to a 3–4 alignment, so he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a conditional seventh round pick (not exercised) on August 30, 2014.{{Cite news |last=Wyatt |first=Jim |date=August 30, 2014 |title=Titans cut Maikon Bonani, Moise Fokou; Edwards traded |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/titansinsider/2014/08/30/titans-maikon-bonani-nfl-travis-coons/14864631/ |access-date=September 20, 2014 |work=Tennessean.com}}

=Dallas Cowboys (first stint)=

Edwards was waived on September 20, 2014,{{Cite web |last=MacMahon |first=Tim |date=September 20, 2014 |title=LB Keith Smith moves up to 53-man roster |url=https://www.espn.com/blog/dallas-cowboys/post/_/id/4733925/cowboys-promote-lb-smith-from-practice-squad |access-date=September 20, 2014 |website=ESPN.com}} with this pattern repeating two additional times during the season, until being re-signed to the practice squad on November 3. He was placed on the injured reserve list on December 10, finishing with 10 tackles. He was cut on September 6, 2015, to make room for running back Christine Michael.

=Oakland Raiders=

A day after being waived by the Dallas Cowboys, Edwards was claimed by the Oakland Raiders. On September 11, 2015, he was cut to make room for linebacker Aldon Smith.

=Chicago Bears=

On September 16, 2015, he was signed by the Chicago Bears. He was released on September 25.

=Dallas Cowboys (second stint)=

On September 29, 2015, Edwards was signed to the Cowboys' practice squad.{{Cite web |last=Helman |first=David |date=September 29, 2015 |title=Cowboys Sign DE/DT David Irving From Kansas City; Make Practice Squad Move |url=https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2015/09/29/cowboys-sign-dedt-david-irving-kansas-city-make-practice-squad-move |access-date=September 29, 2015 |website=DallasCowboys.com}}

=Buffalo Bills=

On December 1, 2015, he was signed by the Buffalo Bills from the Cowboys practice squad. On September 2, 2016, he was released by the Bills as part of final roster cuts.{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Chris |date=September 2, 2016 |title=Vets Felton and Lawson headline Bills cut to 53 |url=https://www.buffalobills.com/news/vets-felton-and-lawson-headline-bills-cut-to-53-17612870 |website=BuffaloBills.com}}

=Carolina Panthers=

On September 4, 2016, Edwards was claimed off waivers by the Panthers.{{Cite web |last=Gantt |first=Darin |date=September 4, 2016 |title=Panthers claim defensive end Lavar Edwards from the Bills |url=https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/09/04/panthers-claim-defensive-end-lavar-edwards-from-the-bills/ |website=NBCSports.com}} He was released on October 18, 2016.{{Cite web |date=October 17, 2016 |title=Panthers bring back TE Scott Simonson |url=http://www.panthers.com/news/article-2/Panthers-bring-back-TE-Scott-Simonson/d677825a-b424-4128-a1a8-65e3002223f9 |website=Panthers.com |access-date=October 18, 2016 |archive-date=October 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019074319/http://www.panthers.com/news/article-2/Panthers-bring-back-TE-Scott-Simonson/d677825a-b424-4128-a1a8-65e3002223f9 |url-status=dead }}

=Indianapolis Colts=

Edwards was claimed off waivers by the Indianapolis Colts on October 19, 2016.{{Cite web |title=Indianapolis Colts Make Roster Moves |url=http://blogs.colts.com/2016/10/19/indianapolis-colts-make-roster-moves-171/ |access-date=October 20, 2016 |archive-date=May 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527213824/https://blogs.colts.com/2016/10/19/indianapolis-colts-make-roster-moves-171/ |url-status=dead }} He was released by the Colts on December 15, 2016, and was signed to the practice squad.{{Cite web |date=December 15, 2016 |title=Indianapolis Colts Make Roster Moves |url=http://blogs.colts.com/2016/12/15/indianapolis-colts-make-roster-moves-181/ |website=Blogs.Colts.com |access-date=December 16, 2016 |archive-date=July 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702204324/https://blogs.colts.com/2016/12/15/indianapolis-colts-make-roster-moves-181/ |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web |date=December 19, 2016 |title=Indianapolis Colts Make Practice Squad Move |url=http://blogs.colts.com/2016/12/19/indianapolis-colts-make-practice-squad-move-17/ |website=Blogs.Colts.com |access-date=December 20, 2016 |archive-date=May 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510085812/http://blogs.colts.com/2016/12/19/indianapolis-colts-make-practice-squad-move-17/ |url-status=dead }} He signed a reserve/future contract with the Colts on January 2, 2017.{{Cite web |date=January 2, 2017 |title=Indianapolis Colts Sign Seven Players to Reserve/Future Contracts |url=http://blogs.colts.com/2017/01/02/indianapolis-colts-sign-seven-players-to-reservefuture-contracts-2/ |website=Blogs.Colts.com |access-date=January 2, 2017 |archive-date=January 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103094008/http://blogs.colts.com/2017/01/02/indianapolis-colts-sign-seven-players-to-reservefuture-contracts-2/ |url-status=dead }} On September 2, 2017, Edwards was waived by the Colts.{{Cite web |last=Walker, Andrew |date=September 2, 2017 |title=Colts Announce Final 2017 Roster Cuts |url=http://www.colts.com/news/article-1/Colts-Announce-Final-2017-Roster-Cuts/5dc30820-9391-401e-8bdd-40852df5769e |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109151022/http://www.colts.com/news/article-1/Colts-Announce-Final-2017-Roster-Cuts/5dc30820-9391-401e-8bdd-40852df5769e |archive-date=November 9, 2017 |website=Colts.com}}

=Cleveland Browns=

On December 13, 2017, Edwards was signed by the Cleveland Browns.{{Cite web |date=December 13, 2017 |title=Browns add DE Lavar Edwards, OL Geoff Gray and WR Matt Hazel |url=http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/article-5/Browns-add-DE-Lavar-Edwards-OL-Geoff-Gray-and-WR-Matt-Hazel/1f827fca-028b-408d-80b4-1c4f88147e38 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215224557/http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/article-5/Browns-add-DE-Lavar-Edwards-OL-Geoff-Gray-and-WR-Matt-Hazel/1f827fca-028b-408d-80b4-1c4f88147e38 |archive-date=February 15, 2018 |website=ClevelandBrowns.com}}