New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence rocked the news cycle this week when it became public that he requested a trade.
Lawrence, 28, is looking for a new contract after a slew of defensive tackle deals dropped him out of the top 10 highest paid players at his position, despite being one of the two or three best defensive tackles in the NFL. The Giants and Lawrence’s camp have been negotiating a new deal since last off-season, when Lawrence was still recovering from the dislocated elbow that ended his 2024 season. However, it seems the two sides are still far enough apart that Lawrence took the dramatic step of going public with his dissatisfaction.
It’s believed that Lawrence’s trade request is a leverage play, trying to turn the Giants’ lack of depth on the interior defensive line against them to maximize Lawrence’s leverage coming off of a down year.
But if Lawrence’s camp wanted to use public pressure against the Giants, the fact that he’s making his push for a new contract off of a down year and only half way through his current contract seems to have rubbed fans the wrong way.
Lawrence may have been viewed as “untradeable” a year ago, but now a full two thirds of Giants fans are willing to grant his requested trade.
Granted, only 10 percent of the respondents are willing to trade him outright, with little (or no) consideration for the return. But taken with those who are willing to deal him for the right price, it’s a pretty stark turn from a player many fans viewed as a core player not all that long ago.
As a corollary to the annual SB Nation Writers’ Mock, Ed negotiated a price of a 2026 1st round pick and a 2027 2nd round pick with Windy City Gridiron (representing the Chicago Bears).
Whether that’s an appropriate compensation is a matter of opinion.
Personally, I come down in the middle on trading Lawrence. My personal feeling is that the decision between trading and extending Lawrence comes down to whether or not you believe he’s in decline or can return to his All Pro form and maintain it for a reasonable amount of time.
If Lawrence can become “Sexy Dexy” again, then it behooves everyone to make it work and hammer out a contract extension. Trading a player of that caliber creates a void you can’t adequately fill, particularly in a year with a weak draft and free agent class. And if the goal is to unseat the Philadelphia Eagles and win the NFC East (still a long-shot proposition, at least according to FanDuel), the Giants will need as many great players as they can get.
However, if Lawrence is truly declining, then selling high makes sense. Paying Lawrence $27 million per year because he was elite a year and a half ago but will only ever be good now, simply doesn’t make sense either.
And for those of us on the outside, that’s information we simply don’t have. We don’t know just how healthy his elbow is, nor do we know his mental state. A healthy and motivated Lawrence is a player the Giants want on their team and likely don’t mind paying.
But as John Harbaugh said this week, “everybody is tradeable.”
