Carl Lawson gets teeth knocked out in Bengals’ win over Browns

I’m not sure if an NFL player can be on an injury report with a ‘tooth’ injury, but Carl Lawson is a candidate for it.

In the Cincinnati Bengals’ Week 4 demolition of the Cleveland Browns, Lawson saw his teeth take some damage, which made for a good laugh by his teammates.

It happened as Lawson was attempting to sack Browns quarterback DeShone Kizer. Lawson managed to hit Kizer as the ball was released, but while going to the ground, Lawson took a shot that knocked out some teeth.

"I got around the edge, and I thought I got a sack, but they said the ball was going forward," Lawson told ESPN. "When I was bringing him down, I just see my teeth in the air for like two seconds. I was like, 'Holy crap.'"

This is a photo from Vontaze Burfict’s Instagram, showing the damage caused to Lawson’s teeth:

Apparently, Lawson was playing without a mouthpiece, something you rarely see any NFL player do. The NFL is a full contact sport (unless you’re Vontaze Burfict), so not having a mouthpiece is simply asking for something like this to happen.

Luckily for Lawson, this mistake didn’t cause too much damage to his teeth. He’ll still make sure to wear a mouthpiece going forward, something fellow linebacker Kevin Minter warned him of.

"He was not wearing a mouthpiece. He won't listen," said Minter. "But he looks like a fool now."

To Lawson’s credit, he’s willing to lose more teeth if it means getting more sacks and fumbles forced.

Lawson didn’t get a sack in this game, though he did pressure Kizer on several occasions. Teeth aside, the Bengals got a special talent in Lawson.