Nothing quite like a Dexter Lawrence trade request to get the blood pumping on a Monday afternoon. Just when it felt like the New York Giants were shifting their focus to the 2026 Draft, Sexy Dexy comes out of nowhere and hits them with a contract standoff ultimatum.
The 28-year-old isn’t due for a new contract for another two years, but when he signed his four-year, $90 million extension back in 2024, he became the third-highest-paid defensive tackle in football. Fast forward two years, and he’s already down to 11th.
And that's obviously not sitting well with the 6-foot-4, 340-pound three-time Pro Bowler.
This isn’t the first time Lawrence’s name has come up in trade talks. He’s almost always included in those “surprising big-name players who could be dealt” lists because of the lack of team success in East Rutherford. But he’s always said he wants to stay, and when the Giants hired John Harbaugh, he made it clear how much he values Dex, with Joe Schoen treating him as close to untouchable as it gets.
But that was a 340-pound trade request ago, and now things feel different. There’s a very real chance the captain of Big Blue’s defense is gone by Week 1, and if that happens, SNY’s Connor Hughes has already floated some potential packages that could make sense:
- A late 2026 first-round pick
- A 2027 first-round pick
- A second & fifth round pick
Early Dexter Lawrence trade returns are starting to take shape
Hughes has heard anything from a late first to a second plus later picks return, with ESPN's Jordan Raanan echoing a similar range, while NFL insider Dianna Russini reports teams have already been calling about Dex, dating back to last season.
Related: 5 teams who could acquire Giants star Dexter Lawrence after bold demand
The Quinnen Williams-Dallas Cowboys deal brought back a strong package (a first and second), and some around the league think Lawrence is even better. Still, once that next contract and coming off a brutal season get factored in, it’ll be almost impossible to find a return that actually matches what he means to the G-Men.
I'd settle for around 100 first-rounders, but that feels unlikely.
Lawrence is arguably the best interior defender in the game and a chaos agent who commands constant double teams. He’ll also turn 29 next season and is likely looking at a deal north of $30 million per year if and when he gets his next contract, all while coming off the worst season of his seven-year career.
Sexy Dexy has been the backbone of this defense since the Giants took him 17th overall out of Clemson in 2019. Schoen has to do everything he can to keep him in New York, but if he can't, getting the right return (I'm talking L.L. Bean fleece) is the only way he can come back from this.