CLEVELAND — Defensive tackle Devaroe Lawrence is doing what he can to earn a spot on the Cleveland Browns’ initial 53-man roster, and he continued to make his case during the first half of the preseason finale against the Detroit Lions at FirstEnergy Stadium Thursday night.
On the Browns’ first defensive play from scrimmage, Lawrence registered a sack of Lions reserve quarterback Tom Savage. Lawrence’s sack resulted in a six-yard loss for the Lions, and they never got ahead of the first-down markers after that.
Later in the drive, Lawrence drew a facemask penalty on offensive lineman Luke Bowanko, which the Browns declined to force a punt on fourth-and-14 from the Detroit 20-yard line.
On first-and-10 from their own 24-yard line, the Lions had Savage line up under center and before he could complete his drop-back and survey the field for an open receiver, Lawrence got into the backfield and finished off his team-leading fourth sack of the preseason.
Lawrence continued his torrid pass-rushing pace, as he had two sacks during the “dress rehearsal” game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Florida last Friday night.
“Devaroe is a good example of somebody who did not worry about his surroundings, just worried about himself and stayed focused on what he had to do to get better,” Browns coach Freddie Kitchens said after Monday’s practice in Berea.
“I think you are seeing the results of that. Did he surprise us? I would not say he surprised us because anytime you trade for someone, your expectation level of them is up there, but he has definitely made good on his opportunities.”
