Star nose tackle Dexter Lawrence has requested a trade from the New York Giants, a league source told The Athletic on Monday. The source said Lawrence will not attend the team’s offseason workouts, which begin Tuesday.
Lawrence, who the Giants selected out of Clemson with the No. 17 pick in the 2019 draft, is a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time second-team All-Pro.
Giants general manager Joe Schoen was peppered with questions about Lawrence’s status at the NFL combine in February. It was obvious that Lawrence wasn’t going to be content to play on the third year of the four-year, $90 million extension he signed in 2023.
That extension made Lawrence the third-highest-paid defensive tackle in the league at the time. He has since dropped to 12th. With no guaranteed money remaining in the final two years of the contract, it was natural to expect the 28-year-old to push for a raise.
One can only hope then that Schoen was feigning ignorance when he asked rhetorically, “You guys know something I don’t know about Dexter?” as he wrapped up his combine press briefing.
“I don’t know where that came from,” Schoen responded when asked if Lawrence would be on the roster this season. “The plan is for Dexter to be on the roster.”
New head coach John Harbaugh emphasized Lawrence’s value when speaking at the combine.
“He’s super, super important,” Harbaugh said. “He’s a cornerstone football player. He’s not really a cornerstone — he’s more like the middle stone. He’s right in the middle and he’s a very big stone and he’s a very active, athletic stone. … We want him. We need him.”
Lawrence clearly wants a salary that he believes is commensurate with that importance, especially after seeing less decorated players like Milton Williams and Jordan Davis sign contracts worth $26 million per year during the past two offseasons.
The 28-year-old established himself as the best nose tackle in the NFL while earning Pro Bowl selections for three straight seasons from 2022 to 2024. He recorded an astounding nine sacks in just 12 games during the 2024 season, which ended prematurely when he dislocated his left elbow.
Lawrence wanted a raise a year ago, but with so much time remaining on his contract, he was only able to get $3 million in incentives added for last season. He earned $1 million of that extra money during a disappointing season when he recorded only a half-sack. Schoen dismissed the lack of production, attributing it to lingering effects from the elbow injury and a poor supporting cast. Opposing offenses still double-teamed Lawrence at one of the highest rates in the league and treated him like the game-wrecking force he was in previous seasons.
The Giants have the second-worst record in the NFL since selecting Lawrence in the first round of the 2019 draft. The losses have taken a toll on Lawrence, who saw close friend Leonard Williams be traded to Seattle in 2023 and win a Super Bowl last season.
New York’s defensive line depth was already thin. Thinking about it without Lawrence in the room should be enough to make fans shiver. Excluding Lawrence, the Giants bring back Roy Robertson-Harris, Darius Alexander, Elijah Chatman, Marlon Tuipulotu and DeMarvin Leal. The Giants didn’t add any pieces to the room until signing defensive tackle Sam Roberts a few weeks into free agency.
Depending on how this situation plays out, the draft could become even more important for the trenches – and it should already have been a huge focus not only on the defensive side but also on the offensive line, where there’s no clear right guard. However, the Giants are without their third-round pick after dealing it last year to move up for quarterback Jaxson Dart. If Lawrence succeeds and gets his wish, the Giants should emerge with plenty of draft capital to work on adding to the trenches. Whether the replacements outweigh Lawrence’s role for the Giants and his value as one of the team’s stars is an open question.
It’s hard to fathom the Giants moving Lawrence, but they must consider all options as Harbaugh overhauls the organization. At last season’s trade deadline, the New York Jets dealt star defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to the Dallas Cowboys for a 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick and defensive tackle Mazi Smith. The asking price for Lawrence could be even higher.
If the Giants want to keep Lawrence, they will likely need to offer an extension that tops the three-year, $78 million extension Davis signed with the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason. Lawrence has a $27 million cap hit for 2026. The Giants could lower that amount with an extension, or they could create $13 million in cap savings with a trade while eating $13.9 million in dead money.
Whatever the Giants decide, they’ll kick off Harbaugh’s first offseason program Tuesday with a key piece of the team missing.
