Latest On Dexter Lawrence

On Tuesday, Giants GM Joe Schoen had his pre-draft press conference and told reporters there had been “productive” conversations with DT Dexter Lawrence, who requested a trade earlier this month amidst a push for a new contract.

By the evening, it was reported that the two sides had reached an “impasse” in contract talks and that the Giants were engaging in trade discussions with other teams ahead of the draft next week.  

Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News says, citing sources, that talks between Lawrence and the Giants have broken off completely. He adds there is significant trade interest in Lawrence. 

Paul Schwartz of the New York Post has heard slightly different, writing that the last trade inquiry the Giants had on Lawrence was five days ago and that it was more of a general inquiry than anything serious. 

The teams that have shown interest in trading for Lawrence are under the impression that New York won’t entertain anything short of a first-round pick in return for their star defensive tackle, per Ari Meirov.

NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo points out Lawrence has two years remaining on his contract and that matters a lot for how the Giants want to handle things. He noted the team added incentives to Lawrence’s contract ahead of last season, too. 

Garafolo adds the Giants have been trying to fortify their defensive line and don’t want to give Lawrence away. He doesn’t think the draft is a hard deadline for anything to happen, noting even if the Giants do trade Lawrence, there’s a belief that it’s better to have picks in 2027 than in 2026. 

SNY’s Connor Hughes notes there are parallels between this situation and what the Jets went through with DT Quinnen Williams. Hughes says Williams was also unhappy with his contract and requested a trade behind the scenes. The Jets held on until they got outstanding value from the Cowboys last year, first and second-round picks. 

Per Hughes, the Giants would prefer to keep Lawrence and won’t trade him unless they are blown away by an offer. 

We took a look at some potential trade destinations for Lawrence recently. 

Lawrence, 28, was drafted No. 17 overall by the Giants in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Clemson. He finished out his four-year, $13,248,048 rookie contract that included a $7,654,954 signing bonus. New York picked up his fifth-year option worth $10.753 million fully guaranteed for the 2023 season. 

Lawrence was set to be an unrestricted free agent in 2024 when he signed a four-year, $90 million extension. He’s set to earn a base salary of $18.5 million in 2026. 

In 2025, Lawrence appeared in all 17 games for the Giants and recorded 31 tackles, four tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, four pass defenses, and one interception.

We’ll have more on Lawrence and the Giants as the news becomes available.