MAY 9: The Giants are giving Lawrence $46.5MM guaranteed at signing, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports the fifth-year defensive tackle will see that number climb to $55.8MM in 2025. Among D-tackles, Lawrence’s contract matches Aaron Donald‘s for the second-most fully guaranteed money. (Though, Donald got there on only a three-year deal.) Only Simmons’ $47.8MM guaranteed at signing tops the highly paid Giant’s number at the position. In addition to $6.2MM of Lawrence’s 2025 base salary being fully guaranteed, Florio adds the deal includes a $3.2MM injury guarantee for 2026.
MAY 4: Another high-profile extension amongst the league’s top young defensive tackles has come to fruition. The Giants are signing Dexter Lawrence to a four-year deal, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link). ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that the pact is worth $90MM and includes $60MM in guarantees.
It comes as no surprise that Lawrence has landed a massive deal, given his emergence as one of the anchors of New York’s defense. The 25-year-old was already on the books for 2023 on the fifth-year option ($12.41MM), so he will now be tied to the team through the 2027 campaign. 
Lawrence’s average of $22.5MM per season in new money places him in a tie for third in the league amongst defensive tackles with Daron Payne, whom the Commanders inked to a mega-deal of his own in March. The terms of that pact are identical to the ones Lawrence will receive to remain in the Big Apple for the foreseeable future. The latter took a sizeable step forward in 2022, notching career-highs across the board.
That performance yielded a statline of 68 tackles (including seven for loss), 7.5 sacks, 28 QB hits. three pass deflections and a pair of forced fumbles. Lawrence earned Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors this season, making him an obvious extension candidate. Signs started pointing to a deal getting done in March, and general manager Joe Schoen recently confirmed talks were ongoing with the Clemson product.
Selected with the No. 17 pick in the 2019 draft (part of the package sent by the Browns to the Giants in the Odell Beckham Jr. trade), Lawrence has proven to be an effective addition for New York and can be expected to remain one of the league’s top performers at his position. The DT market has seen a number of sizeable contracts, including the ones signed by Javon Hargrave and Jeffery Simmons earlier this offseason. Lawrence will slot in at the spot many projected him to land in.
It will be interesting to monitor how much of an effect this Lawrence extension will have on the Giants’ spending along the defensive interior. Veteran Leonard Williams is set to carry a cap hit of $32.3MM in 2023, and the team understandably wishes to re-work his pact to lower that figure. With cost certainty now in place with respect to Lawrence, New York could now be better positioned to determine Williams’ future.
On a broader level, this marks another major DT extension signed by a 2019 draftee. Simmons, and now Lawrence, have their second contracts in place, but the same is not yet true of Jets star Quinnen Williams. Attention will turn to his talks with the other New York franchise, and also to Chris Jones‘ efforts to leverage the position’s new market into a renegotiated Chiefs accord. Regardless of what develops on that front, the Giants have a foundational piece of their defense in place for years to come.
Exactly where are the Giants finding all this Cap money? I’m jealous.
Presumably restructuring Leonard Williams’s massive deal.
This move actually helps lower their cap hit this year which is typically the case with extensions. It’s one of the main motivating factors to get deals like this done.
They’ll have to cut Leonard Williams if he doesn’t take a big pay cut.
The Giants cap is fine. They had about $575,000 in cap space before signing Ximines. He probably signed for around the minimum which would put them slightly over the cap. This extension will lower their cap hit this year which will give them plenty of space to sign their entire draft class, which should only cost about $2.674 million.
Without any other moves, they’ll be under the cap without a problem. But I expect a Barkley extension with possibilities of a Leonard, Adoree or Thomas extension to give them more room for in-season moves. Cutting Holmes would free up another $2.7 mil. Leonard definitely won’t get cut, they’ve already made that clear. If anything he’s getting an extension.
No he isn’t.
JD has to get it done with Quinnen. Letting it linger is not a good idea.
Extensions for all these players that had career years at once is going to come back to haunt the giants. Jones most of all.
I think this approach makes more sense than extending players who had down years which is what Gettleman would do.
Now Saquon!
At least Lawrence deserved his money – unlike Jones and Barkley.
Barkley hasn’t signed an extension yet, buddy. Get a clue.