It’s been a week since Dexter Lawrence requested a trade from the New York Giants after contract talks stalled. With two years left on his deal, Dex isn't exactly operating from a position of strength in the negotiations.
There seem to be three options for how this plays out, with the first being the least likely:
- He plays out the final two years of his deal and drops the strong-arm request
- General manager Joe Schoen caves and gives him the payday he’s looking for
- The Giants trade him
The one thing the G-Men have going for them is that they seem to know the 28-year-old's motive: Show me the money. According to Giants insider Dan Duggan of The Athletic, the timing of his request suggests that it's nothing more than a public shakedown:
"The timing of Lawrence’s request suggests he wants a raise more than a trade. If a new destination is his top priority, it would have made more sense to push for a trade before free agency when team coffers were full, and draft picks were flying around."
And while that might seem like a good thing for Giants fans, we're nowhere close to being out of the woods yet. Just because the vibe is that he wants more money, rather than a new team, means absolutely nothing until he's back in North Jersey, happy.
Giants insider gives a sneak peek into Dexter Lawrence trade request
Sexy Dexy has been the heart and soul of the defense ever since the Giants drafted him 17th overall in 2019. The 6-foot-4, 340-pounder has been everything they could have wanted and then some. His play earned him a four-year, $90 million deal in 2023, but it’s clear the rising defensive line market has him feeling left out.
When he signed the extension, he was the third-highest-paid DL. Fast forward two years, and he’s now tied for 11th. Less accomplished players like Milton Williams and Jordan Davis are making significantly more money, which has to be a kick to the ol’ ego.
Aside from not needing a new deal for two more years, it doesn’t help that he’s coming off the worst season of his career and didn’t look right after the elbow injury that ended his 2024 season. There’s a strong chance he rebounds in 2026 and looks every bit the player who deserves a raise, but there’s also the reality he might not be... which adds another layer to all of this.
With John Harbaugh as the new head coach and Dawn Aponte following him as the team’s new Senior Vice President of Football Operations and Strategy, financial decisions are going to be treated differently than they were in years past, for better or worse.
So while this might seem like a guy looking for a couple million more, it’s not that simple. This has a chance to turn into something a lot bigger than it looks right now, and Giants fans shouldn’t be so quick to feel better about it just because it’s all about the money.