Devaroe Lawrence

Devaroe Lawrence (born October 13, 1992) is an American football defensive tackle who is a free agent. He played college football at Auburn and signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2017. Lawrence has also been a member of the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, and Washington Football Team.

Devaroe Lawrence
refer to caption
Lawrence with the Washington Football Team in 2021
Personal information
Born: (1992-10-13) October 13, 1992
Greenville, South Carolina
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:295 lb (134 kg)
Career information
High school:Carolina Academy (Greenville)
College:Auburn
Position:Defensive tackle
Undrafted:2017
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Tackles:9
Pass deflections:1
Interceptions:1
Fumble recoveries:1
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Early life and high school

Lawrence was born and grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and attended Carolina Academy. His biological father was absent from his life and his mother abandoned him at the age of 12 after giving him to another couple in an unofficial adoption. He dealt drugs starting in eight grade and was served a two week jail sentence while in high school, with two more stints in jail shortly after his graduation. Lawrence was later taken in by Sam Kelly, one of the assistant coaches at Carolina Academy, who employed him at his software company.[1]

College career

Having had no offers to play college football out of high school due to poor academic performance and his legal issues, Lawrence initially took courses at Greenville Technical College. Participated in an open tryout Georgia Military College's football team and was offered a spot on the team as a walk-on, despite having been overweight and not having played the sport in over two years. He redshirted his freshman year in order to get into shape. He committed to Auburn over offers from Southern Miss and West Virginia going into his redshirt freshman season.[2] He tallied 20 tackles and 4.5 sacks in his only season of play for the Bulldogs.[3]

Lawrence then played three seasons for the Tigers. He appeared in four games with one tackle, which was for a loss, in his first season with the team before entering the regular defensive line rotation as a redshirt junior.[4] Lawrence played in all 13 of Auburn's games as a redshirt junior, making 31 tackles, two for a loss, and half of a sack.[5] In his final season, Lawrence played in 11 games, recording 13 tackles, three for a loss, and one sack.[6] He tore his ACL in his final career game.[7] Lawrence finished his Auburn career with 45 total tackles with six tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in 28 games played.[8]

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

Lawrence was signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent on May 1, 2017.[9] He spent the 2017 season on injured reserve while he recovered from his ACL tear.[10]

Cleveland Browns
Lawrence with the Browns in 2019

Lawrence was traded to the Cleveland Browns on September 1, 2018, for a 2019 seventh-round draft pick.[10] Lawrence made his NFL debut on September 9, 2018, during the Browns season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.[11] He was waived by the Browns on October 4, 2018, and was re-signed to the practice squad.[12][13] The Browns signed Lawrence to a futures contract on January 2, 2019.[14]

On November 26, 2019, Lawrence was waived by the Browns. He had eight tackles with a fumble recovery and an interception in 11 games played with two starts with the Browns at the time of his release.[15]

Kansas City Chiefs

On November 30, 2019, Lawrence was signed to the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad. Lawrence remained on the practice squad for the rest of the 2019 season, including during the Chiefs Super Bowl LIV victory.[16] He re-signed with the Chiefs on February 5, 2020.[17] He was waived during final roster cuts on September 5, 2020.[18]

Washington Football Team

On September 30, 2020, Lawrence signed with the Washington Football Team's practice squad.[19] He was elevated to the active roster on October 24 for the team's week 7 game against the Dallas Cowboys, and reverted to the practice squad after the game.[20] Lawrence signed a reserve/futures contract with Washington on January 11, 2021,[21] but was released on August 31, 2021.[22]

References
  1. Garafolo, Mike (April 25, 2017). "2017 NFL Draft: How football changed Devaroe Lawrence's life". NFL.com. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  2. Herndon, Mike (July 22, 2013). "New Auburn commit Devaroe Lawrence: 'Never in a million years would I have said this would happen'". AL.com. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  3. Erickson, Joel (June 21, 2014). "Devaroe Lawrence enrolls at Auburn". AL.com. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  4. Black, Ryan (June 11, 2015). "Ultra-talented Auburn DL Devaroe Lawrence trying to push through mental wall". Ledger-Enquirer. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  5. Vitale, Josh (September 13, 2016). "Teammate says it's not a 'surprise' DT Devaroe Lawrence didn't play against Arkansas State". Opelika-Auburn News. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  6. Greenwood, Nick (June 12, 2019). "Daily Cleveland Browns Roster Breakdown: Devaroe Lawrence". BigPlay.com. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  7. Johnson, Luke (August 18, 2018). "Is this a dream? Devaroe Lawrence follows unlikely path to Saints". The Times-Picayune. NOLA.com. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  8. Stevens, Matthew (May 1, 2017). "Four fmr. Auburn players sign with NFL teams after 2017 draft". Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  9. "Saints Add 12 Undrafted Free Agents". NewOrleansSaints.com. May 1, 2017. Archived from the original on September 23, 2017. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  10. Risdon, Jeff (September 1, 2018). "Browns trade 7th round pick to Saints for DT Devaroe Lawrence". Browns Wire. USA Today. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  11. "Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns - September 9th, 2018-Snap counts". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  12. Risdon, Jeff (October 4, 2018). "Browns promote DT Brian Price to active roster, waive Devaroe Lawrence". Browns Wire. USA Today.
  13. "Browns sign DL Devaroe Lawrence to practice squad". ClevelandBrowns.com. October 6, 2018.
  14. "Browns sign nine players". ClevelandBrowns.com. January 2, 2019.
  15. "Browns release DT Devaroe Lawrence". ClevelandBrowns.com. November 26, 2019.
  16. Inabinett, Mark (February 2, 2020). "How the state's players performed in Super Bowl LIV". AL.com. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  17. "Chiefs add 9 practice squad players on reserve/future contracts". Chiefs Wire. USA Today. February 5, 2020.
  18. "Chiefs Roster Down to NFL-Mandated 53". Chiefs.com.
  19. "Washington Football Team Signs DT Devaroe Lawrence And DB Manny Patterson To Practice Squad, Releases K Brett Maher". WashingtonFootball.com. September 30, 2020.
  20. Wormeli, Ryan (October 24, 2020). "Washington places Charles, AGG on IR". NBCSports.com. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  21. "Washington Signs 13 Players To Reserve/Future Contracts". WashingtonFootball.com. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  22. "Washington Makes Multiple Roster Moves". WashingtonFootball.com. August 31, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
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