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Combination of Wyatt Teller and Kendall Provided a Boost Sunday

The Cleveland Browns suffered a major setback the opening week of the season when Kendall Lamm suffered a knee injury. Returning for his first action against the Cincinnati Bengals, Lamm and Wyatt Teller provided a boost to the team's offensive line performance.
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Perhaps one of the most impactful moments of the Cleveland Browns season that never gets mentioned is the knee injury that offensive tackle Kendall Lamm suffered against the Tennessee Titans. Greg Robinson had gotten himself ejected for kicking a Titans player and Lamm went in and suffered a knee injury almost immediately that kept him out about three months, destroying the team's tackle depth the first week of the season. The combination of Lamm and Wyatt Teller, the team's starting right guard since midway through the season, provided a better product for the right side of the offensive line against the Cincinnati Bengals than has been seen most of this year.

The Browns should've given Lamm an equal shot to beat Hubbard out for the right tackle job entering the season, but he didn't get many reps there, taking most of his time as the second team left tackle. Based on his career before he got to the Browns, Lamm was an effective pass protector and underwhelming run blocker just like Hubbard, but he's simply bigger by about three inches in length and a few pounds in weight. He might've beaten Hubbard out in an open competition.

But with the injury, as Hubbard's play became a more obvious problem, the Browns didn't have another option, short of Justin McCray, who has been a disaster at tackle because he really isn't a tackle, giving everything he has in an attempt to help. Drew Forbes was on injured reserve, only recently activated and it's not clear what position they prefer Forbes to play. He has the ability to play tackle, but he might be a guard to them.

It stands to reason that if Lamm wasn't injured, he likely would've seen the field before this past Sunday as there have been games where Hubbard was just completely over-matched. And it's possible Hubbard has been gutting it out through pain because the Browns had no one else to put there. If nothing else, the two games Robinson missed, one for being benched against the New England Patriots and other to injury against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Lamm would've been a far better option at left tackle than McCray. Particularly in the second game against the Steelers, that could've made a substantial difference.

The play of Wyatt Teller at right guard has been refreshing in pass protection. He had a few miserable reps against the Pittsburgh Steelers, surrendering a pair of sacks to Javon Hargrave, but in general, he's provided much of what was lost from having Kevin Zeitler last season. His run blocking, however, is still a work in progress. It may be something he can work hard to improve in the offseason. If he's able to do that, the Browns will have their right guard for the foreseeable future at a fraction of the price of Zeitler.

Lamm should continue playing right tackle the remainder of the season if Sunday is an indication of what he'll bring the next three weeks. He's likely to be here next year, making $2.5 million while Hubbard is scheduled to make $6.5 million. It's a forgone conclusion Hubbard will be moved this offseason.

Lamm isn't likely to be the team's answer at right tackle, but he does represent an option there and a failsafe if the Browns acquire a rookie that's not ready to take the job or an injury. That is what Lamm was supposed to do this season before he injured his knee. He was able to effectively protect Deshaun Watson as his right tackle with the Houston Texans last year. In that 2018 season, Lamm was Watson's best lineman, which helps explain their complete overhaul of the group this year.

Lamm was one of the most prudent offseason moves that general manager John Dorsey made. While Dorsey didn't address the starting spots for the tackle position this year, hoping to get through to the 2020 NFL Draft, he did his best to ensure the team wasn't going to implode due to injury.

The trade for Teller was fantastic in that it addressed the right guard position for the latter half of this year and will likely continue into at least next season. The miss on Austin Corbett with the 33rd overall pick of the 2018 Draft was brutal and it set the Browns back for the first half of this season. Credit to Dorsey for not sitting idly by, making the move to get Teller for fifth and seventh round draft picks.

The Browns will likely have their best combination of five linemen available to them the next three weeks to protect Baker Mayfield, who will hopefully perform better than he did against the Bengals.