The New York Giants didn't just trade Dexter Lawrence because they were offered a return that was too good to pass up. John Harbaugh and Joe Schoen exhausted every avenue to keep him, but when they realized that wouldn't be possible, they sent him off to the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday.
Harbaugh saw the value of keeping him, and the Giants tried to extend Sexy Dexy before things got worse. However, the situation was already too far gone, and even with a new contract, it seems clear that no amount of money would have fixed the rift, despite the clear reservations from Harbaugh.
The 29-year-old was so frustrated that he didn't even want to deal with New York's lead decision-makers. The New York Post's John Schwartz reported that as the situation worsened, Lawrence's agent did not want to deal with Schoen and later forbade Harbaugh from speaking with Dex directly.
"As the situation devolved, Lawrence’s camp (agent Joel Segal) did not want to deal with general manager Joe Schoen, but Dawn Aponte and Chris Mara, with Schoen still involved, could not broker a deal," Schwartz wrote. "Segal forbade Harbaugh from speaking directly with Lawrence. That was a source of frustration. Thus, they never heard directly from Lawrence, and Harbaugh’s force of personality could not be put to use. That might not have mattered, anyway. Money talks, and thus Lawrence wanted to walk"
Harbaugh is the type of person whose often able to get through to players. That's part of why the Giants hired him in the first place. But in this situation, Joel Segal rendered Harbs powerless, which ultimately played a role in the trade getting done when it was the only path forward. How classy.
The New York Giants never had a chance of bringing Dexter Lawrence back after his trade request
Something that stood out about the three-time Pro Bowler was his loyalty. Saquon Barkley left. Julian Love left. Xavier McKinney left. Even Leonard Williams was traded, and they were all better off. But he chose to stay with a losing team until the losses became too much to bear, and he then wanted out.
After seven seasons with Big Blue, it's insane the lengths his camp went to push for this trade. They did not want to listen to reason from the front office, let alone even negotiate, but the Giants fared pretty well given their complete lack of leverage in contract (and trade) negotiations.
Even still, the G-Men are better off without him. The star DT is still one of the best defensive players in the NFL, but he had a major down season in 2025 due to the lingering effects of his 2024 injury. So given the circumstances, getting the 10th overall pick out of a disgruntled, struggling star is amazing.
Harbaugh has admitted he wants to win in the trenches, but that's incredibly unimportant. More than anything, he wants players who want to be Giants, and clearly, the Clemson product was done, but he's not irreplaceable.
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