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The Giants boast a top-heavy roster, but one of New York’s most talented players may be on his way out.
Monday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, All-Pro defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence requested a trade, after spending the past two offseasons attempting to rework his current contract.
Sources inside the league expect a robust market, should the Giants acquiesce to the 28-year-old’s request.
“You’re talking about a top-five defensive lineman in the league,” an NFC North defensive coach tells Between The Hashmarks, on the condition of anonymity to speak freely about a player on another team. “Dexter Lawrence is a difference-maker.”
Despite having two years remaining on his current deal, Lawrence seems exasperated by the Giants’ reluctance to rework his contract. Lawrence’s current deal pays him upwards of $21.8 million per season, including $60 million guaranteed.
One agent familiar with the defensive tackle market tells Between The Hashmarks that Lawrence would likely command somewhere between Milton Williams’ $26 million per season, and Christian Wilkins’ $27.5 million AAV.
The Giants, for their part, don’t sound very intent on moving off Lawrence, understanding that trading him removes one of the most dominant players on the roster, who happens to play a premium position.
“He’s super, super important. He’s a cornerstone football player — not really a cornerstone, more like the middle stone,” Giants coach John Harbaugh told reporters at the combine in March. “He’s right in the middle. He’s a very big stone, and he’s a very active, athletic one.”
Lawrence, 6-foot-4 and 340 pounds, is a space eater along the defensive line against the run who has averaged 48.7 total tackles per season. He’s also plenty capable of providing an interior pass rush, as underscored by his 30.5 career sacks, since being chosen No. 17 overall by the Giants in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
To get a sense for just how dominant Lawrence is, look no further than how teams protect against him, double-teaming him on 70.35 percent of snaps last season.
In East Rutherford, on a defense that includes All-Pro Brian Burns and ascending star Abdul Carter, Lawrence might be the most gifted defensive player on the roster, given his elite 14 percent pass rush win rate, and elite 84.5 pass rush grade from Pro Football Focus.
Which is exactly why Lawrence’s trade request could be more deeply rooted in saber-rattling a new power structure than actually wanting out, at a time when most teams have already allocated the big spending portion of their cap space.
However, any team acquiring Lawrence would be dropping a foundational building block and genuine difference-maker along the defensive line.
“There’s going to be an issue here,” a former General Manager and current NFL front office executive tells Between The Hashmarks, on the condition of anonymity to speak freely about a player on another team. “Some teams will struggle with compensation to the Giants, and paying him top-dollar on Day 1.
“Also, Dexter may not fit if your team runs a 4-3 base defense. But, having said that, it only takes one team to thread the needle.”
Despite being limited to just 14 total tackles, half a sack, and one interception last season, make no mistake, at this stage of the offseason, Lawrence is the best player currently available and the kind of piece that lifts a competitive team into the realm of legitimate Super Bowl contenders.
Here’s a look at some of Lawrence’s best fits; four teams armed with the draft capital and resources to pull off a blockbuster trade and rework the three-time Pro Bowler out of Clemson’s contract.
The New England Patriots arrived ahead of schedule in 2025, before the Seattle Seahawks blew a hole through the defense’s most glaring weakness in a 29-13 Super Bowl loss that was never quite as competitive as the final score indicated.
After watching Kenneth Walker III run roughshod for 135 yards, while averaging five yards per carry in the Super Bowl, the Patriots have every motivation in the world to make a run at Lawrence, especially given that New England will be staring down the barrel at a pair of matchups apiece each season against Buffalo Bills star James Cook and the Dolphins’ speedster De’von Achane in the AFC East.
Head coach Mike Vrabel and the Patriots maybe the ideal situation to thread the needle the executive suggested, given that New England runs a 3-4 base defense, boasts $39.5 million in cap space, and might not have any qualms about shipping the Giants at least one first-round pick for a player who just might be the missing piece to building a Super Bowl-winning defense.
There has been a lot to like about what general manager Ryan Poles and the Bears have been able to pull off this offseason.
Netting a second-round pick from the Buffalo Bills, in exchange for luxury wide receiver DJ Moore is a big win for Chicago, Coby Bryant could be a modest upgrade over C.J. Gardner-Johnson at safety, and Devin Bush is a competent veteran linebacker who could bring stability along the front seven.
What the Bears haven’t been able to do, which was one of this offseason’s top priorities, is bolster the pass rush opposite Montez Sweat, which was a glaring deficiency for a defense that relied significantly on creating timely turnovers last season. Pairing Lawrence, and his 27 hurries and 34 quarterback pressures alongside Sweat could be the secret sauce that significantly elevates coordinator Dennis Allen’s defense.
However, Poles and the Bears would need to pull off a wholesale restructuring of the cap in order to pull off a deal for Lawrence, given that Chicago currently has less than $300,000 in cap space this offseason, before boasting $61 million in spending flexibility in 2027.
If the accounting can work, Chicago may be the leader in the clubhouse to be able to put together the kind of package to persuade John Harbaugh, Dawn Aponte, Joe Schoen, and the Giants to pull off a blockbuster.
Barry Reeger-Imagn Images
Might Lawrence be about to live the inverse of Leonard Williams’ reality?
Williams, originally chosen by the New York Jets with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, was dealt across town to the Giants for a pair of draft picks, back in 2019.
There isn’t a team in the league better positioned from a draft capital standpoint (five first-round picks over the next two years), nor a cap space standpoint, with $39.5 million in cap space this offseason and $151.5 million in 2027 to acquire Lawrence.
Likewise, in what is almost unanimously viewed as a down draft class, general manager Darren Mougey and the Jets aren’t going to find the kind of difference-making impact player with the No. 16 overall pick in this month’s draft that can compete with the impact Lawrence would make immediately.
It isn’t difficult to envision Aaron Glenn’s defense rapidly climbing multiple rungs up the ladder after selecting New York’s choice of edge rusher Arvell Reese or David Bailey at No. 2 overall, and pairing him alongside Lawrence.
Meanwhile, for the Giants, trading Lawrence to the Jets ensures he’s sent to the AFC, and would net a top-20 pick in this year’s class to add two potential blue-chip talents to a roster in need of balance.
There is an arms race afoot in the AFC West, and the Chargers need to keep pace.
In Las Vegas, the Raiders have loaded up on offense, building around Fernando Mendoza and Kirk Cousins with Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers. The Broncos pulled off a blockbuster to drop Jaylen Waddle in Bo Nix’ supporting cast, a move Denver hopes puts them over the top and one last hump into the Super Bowl, and well, the Chiefs are the Chiefs.
The Chargers, meanwhile, lost edge rusher Odafe Oweh in free agency, and Lawrence would be an immediate upgrade over former Giants teammate and current Chargers nose tackle Dalvin Tomlinson. Sometimes, the best offense and quickest way to take pressure off a franchise quarterback is to build an elite and disruptive defense to ease the pressure to light up the scoreboard. Los Angeles could make that kind of investment for Justin Herbert by trading for Lawrence.
Only two teams have more cap space than General Manager Joe Hortiz and the Chargers’ $48.7 million this offseason, and Lawrence could be the kind of missing piece that puts the Chargers over the top, or at minimum, a worthy counterpunch to the prolific offenses being built in the division.