A contract standoff that spans several offseasons reached a potential impasse on Monday as New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence requested a trade. The two-time All-Pro defender has been one of of nfl The most formidable internal strengths of his seven-year career and is demanding compensation this way, but is set to enter the 2026 season as the league’s 11th-highest-paid defensive tackle.
If the Giants meet Lawrence’s request and put him on the trade block, he would immediately become the best available player on the market. In fact, if teams are confident he can bounce back after last year’s decline, they could look at him as the top prize of the entire offseason.
Before last season, NFL players voted Lawrence the No. 17 overall player in the league. For comparison, new Baltimore Ravens edge rusher Trey Hendrickson (No. 14) is the only man ahead of Lawrence on the top 100 list to sign with a new team this offseason. Such a slight difference in the rankings, at least among his teammates, leaves a strong argument that Lawrence will be at the forefront of this year’s roster changes.
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However, that vote came before the worst year of Lawrence’s career. Holding him in the same regard as a star like Hendrickson requires the belief that 2025 was a blip rather than the sign of a mid-career decline. Lawrence’s four tackles for loss last year were his fewest since his rookie year, and he managed just half a sack after racking up nine last year.
It doesn’t take much imagination to imagine Lawrence returning to peak production levels. For one, his recent decline can be partially attributed to an elbow dislocation that caused him to miss part of last season and go through 2025. He is also a three-time Pro Bowler who still has one more year to go before he reaches the age of 30.
But because there is substantial uncertainty about his outlook through 2026 and beyond, and because it would make sense for the Giants to bring him back, Lawrence may not even move in the first place.
Lawrence’s market valuation
If the Giants had sought to trade Lawrence before his elbow injury in November 2024, they could have reasonably set his value at two first-round picks. That’s the going rate for the best defensive lineman, with Micah Parsons commanding a pair of top picks in last summer’s trade and Max Crosby valued at two first-rounders before last month’s deal between the Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens fell through.
However, after a serious injury and a disappointing campaign that followed, it would be difficult for the Giants to demand more than half of that trade package. Teams in need of run defense should still value Lawrence enough to swap a first-round pick for him, but anything more than that will be gravy for the Giants until he proves he’s back in prime form.
At that price, why not continue working toward a long-term deal that will keep him around?
However, if talks fizzle out in the coming months, or if Lawrence’s request sparks the interest of potential suitors, it wouldn’t be surprising if there are a handful of teams that show interest.
CBS Sports’ Zack Pareles identified four ideal landing spots for the former first-round selection. None are as attractive as the Los Angeles Chargers, who still have the cap space needed to make a great move and who have room for Lawrence in the midst of what is becoming a stellar defensive front. Perhaps the Houston Texans – who look set to take a defensive lineman in the draft – are interested in adding to what is already an elite unit.
This year’s draft class is less attractive than the 2027 batch, and there is an abundance of defensive line and edge rusher talent outside of the first round. Perhaps this will force one of those teams to part with their first-round selection to acquire Lawrence.
Why won’t business happen?
Nothing can stop the Giants from keeping Lawrence. Trade requests are standard negotiation procedures. Plus, offseason workouts Lawrence is willing to skip because the conversation is voluntary anyway. There is no immediate need to send him out of town rather than continue working toward a contract extension or revised deal.
That will change if the impasse deepens over the summer, but for now, there’s no real reason to believe the Giants will benefit more from a Lawrence buyout than from continuing their contract negotiations.
Plus, all of this has real on-field implications, too. Only the Cincinnati Bengals fielded a worse run defense than the Giants last year, and moving on from the star defensive tackle isn’t going to solve that problem. Also, according to Pro Football Focus, Lawrence was the seventh-highest graded interior defender in pass rushing. A fully healthy Lawrence is exactly the kind of strong guy this maligned defense needs to turn things around.
New defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson should be given the opportunity to revitalize this unit as planned before Giants executives make dramatic changes to the roster by removing their top players. And if the goal is to take a step toward contention in Year 1 of the John Harbaugh era, it’s hard to see how trading Lawrence accomplishes that task.
Furthermore, as a veteran beat writer notedIf John Harbaugh wants Lawrence, something will eventually happen.
