For seven years, Dexter Lawrence was the guy of the New York Giants defense. When Big Blue took him 17th overall back in 2019, nobody could have predicted just how fast the 6-foot-4, 340-pound mountain of a man would win over the city.
It took him all of five minutes to earn the nickname Sexy Dexy and turn into a franchise icon, dance moves and all.
But Footloose wasn't going to save East Rutherford of Lawrence's exit. What started as a contract dispute eventually hit a wall and led to the inevitable trade.It was wild watching the situation crater in real time. But all good things must come to an end.
The Cincinnati Bengals jumped at the chance to bring in a new defensive centerpiece, throwing the 10th pick of the 2026 Draft at the G-Men. With a return like that the decision was easier and it felt like a win-win trade for both sides. But maybe not. Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon sees the move as one that could backfire spectacularly for Cincy, which the pettiness in me is here for.
Bengals’ Dexter Lawrence gamble could backfire faster than expected
Gagnon questioned the move, noting how much the veteran's production has declined while his price tag has skyrocketed. In his analysis, he laid out exactly why it carries a massive amount of risk for the Bengals:
"Lawrence will turn 29 this season, and the big guy might be beyond his prime. His raw and rate-based numbers have dropped off the last couple of seasons, and he'll cost about $70 million over the next three years. It's hard to imagine he's the final puzzle piece for this team. And if he isn't, this is an automatic backfire."
Cincinnati clearly felt the pressure after another rough season defensively. They've now finished in the bottom eight in yards allowed per game over the last three seasons. And with Joe Burrow as their quarterback, in his prime, and looking for a Super Bowl, they can't afford to miss another year of playoff football just because the defense can't keep up.
It's been a theme of theirs for years and you know what that means: time to overcorrect. Giving up a top-10 draft pick for a seemingly declining player on a now massive contract is a risky gamble.
That's some price tag for a player whose production took a nosedive last year. The Bengals are banking on Lawrence recapturing his older form. He has to in order for this to work.
If Burrow and Co. don't get the version of Dex they're hoping for, this would go down as a massive overpay. Talk about going all-in on Cincy's part.
Flipping a player who didn’t want to be here into the 10th overall pick was good business. But this isn’t really even about the Giants. It’s about Cincinnati taking a bold swing and hoping they got the right version of Dex. If they didn’t, this is going to age like milk.
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