Dexter Lawrence sounds more than ready to quiet his doubters heading into next season.
The Cincinnati Bengals bet big on Lawrence when they traded for the 3-time Pro Bowler in April, acquiring him from the New York Giants for the No. 10 pick in this year’s draft. Some immediately questioned whether Lawrence was worth the price tag, pointing to Lawrence’s reduced production from the 2025 season.
Lawrence reportedly has a chip on his shoulder heading into next season, particularly with his non-existent sack output from the previous year. He only recorded half a sack in 17 games last season.
“I’m more managing it now because you can’t really beat up on other teams. So during the season you just let it go and you flow,” Lawrence said, via the Associated Post’s Joe Reedy.
“I know how I approach this game and my impact to the game, even when it doesn’t show up on the sack numbers.”
Sacks are far from the perfect metric when it comes to determining defensive impact for defensive linemen like Lawrence. But Bengals fans probably won’t be satisfied if Lawrence isn’t piling up sacks after giving up a first-round pick for his services.
The 28-year-old tallied 9.0 sacks across just 12 games in 2024. With Lawrence sounding more motivated than ever to prove the Bengals right, Cincinnati may get that version of Sexy Dexy come next season.