Browns starting G Shawn Lauvao will miss start of regular season
By Brad Rowland
One of the NFL’s “iron men” will be missing regular season time when September rolls around, as Cleveland Browns guard Shawn Lauvao will undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair his injured ankle.
Lauvao had made 32 consecutive starts for the Browns, and in 2012, he played the entire, 16-game regular season without missing a single snap. Head coach Rob Chudzinski was quoted as saying that Lauvao didn’t break any bones in the ankle when he went down, but apparently the unspecified damage was bad enough to force him into missing a few weeks of action.
As far as timetables are concerned, the team isn’t relating many details (as it isn’t in their best interest to do so), but the start of the regular season is officially gone for Lauvao. He was expected to help anchor an improving Cleveland offensive line, and any absence on that unit certainly isn’t a positive for developing quarterback Brandon Weeden.
It isn’t a damning blow for the Browns, but any time you lose a key cog, it is significant. Former University of Pittsburgh guard Jason Pinkston started in Lauvao’s place during Thursday’s first preseason game, and he is expected to be the primary fill-in until Lauvao returns.
Hopefully for the Browns, who have playoff visions, Pinkston can do the job in the short term. Stay tuned.