Josh Gordon celebrates a touchdown with Tyrod Taylor and Devaroe Lawrence.
Cleveland Browns fans all know names like Odell Beckham Jr., Baker Mayfield and Myles Garrett.
But defensive tackle Devaroe Lawrence might be the baddest man on the Browns roster that no one is talking about. Well, except his teammates, who recently voted Lawrence as the player on the team’s roster they’d most like to have on their side in a street fight.
“Have you not seen Devaroe?” defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi told the Cleveland Browns official site. “Devaroe will hold it down. If I’m with Devaroe and we’re in a back alley, I’m scared for the people in the back alley.”
Lawrence is 6-foot-2, 295 pounds and has a personality that thrives in the trenches.
“Devaroe, he crazy,” Christian Kirksey added. “He’s really crazy in the head and that’s somebody you want on your side.”
GOT ‘EM! Jayrone Elliot and Devaroe Lawrence split the sack #NOvsJAX t.co/yT362pfrHV
“The biggest test for any human is life,” Lawrence told ESPN. “You can cheat on any math test, you can cheat on any English test. But you can’t cheat what life throws at you. So it’s all on how you deal with it.
Devaroe Lawrence with 31 reps. Hughes yet at Auburn Pro Day.
“Have I always handled the bad situations good? No. But it’s your life, and you gotta learn from your mistakes. I can say I’ve learned from a lot of my mistakes, and I do a lot of things different. I think different. I see things different.”
Lawrence’s story has been one of persistence. When he finally earned a scholarship to Auburn after walking on to Georgia Military Academy, but he tore his ACL. He was picked up by the Saints as an undrafted free agent, but found out a second surgery was needed, keeping him on the sideline longer.
“I could’ve quit [after the second surgery]. I could’ve said, ‘Forget it.’ I could’ve just tapped,” Lawrence said. “I’m fittin’ to be a 25-year-old rookie. Put that in perspective. That’s a long road. But I ain’t quit trusting God. He got me here for a reason, and I really believe that.”
Clearly better times are ahead for Lawrence, and healthy again, he will hopefully make an impact in the Browns’ defensive line rotation.
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