Giants Still In Talks With Dexter Lawrence, Do Not View Draft As Deadline

The draft represents the second trade window on the NFL calendar, and an All-Pro recently made a request to be moved. The Giants have referred to Dexter Lawrence as a core player, but they have a decision to make — perhaps soon.

Joe Schoen confirmed a previous report the Giants are listening to offers for the veteran defensive tackle, via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo, but the fifth-year GM said (via the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy) he is not treating the draft as a deadline to complete a deal. If the Giants were going to move on, it would expedite their John Harbaugh-headed overhaul if they collected prime draft capital for Lawrence this year. But the team is believed to still want him on Harbaugh’s first Big Blue roster.

[RELATED: Kayvon Thibodeaux Trade Talks Could Pick Up]

Harbaugh, Schoen and senior VP of football ops and strategy Dawn Aponte have engaged in talks with Lawrence over the past week, The Athletic’s Dan Duggan adds. That represents a promising chapter here, but a recent report indicated the Giants are not interested in extending Lawrence this offseason. Lawrence, 28, is coming off a down year — albeit one Schoen partially blamed on the elbow injury he sustained late in 2024 — and has two seasons left on the four-year, $90MM extension agreed to in 2023.

“We’d like for Dexter to be here and at some point we’ll come to a resolution here, whatever that may be. We’ll see,” Schoen said, via Garafolo. “I’m always going to pick up the phone. Maybe not to the (extent) that coach said last week that everybody is tradable. But that is my job as general manager, if teams call … to take into consideration what that looks like, what the compensation looks like, who the player is, how that affects the roster and then try to make the best decision off that.”

The Giants testing Lawrence’s resolve could lead to a minicamp absence and at least a training camp hold-in. The latter route, as opposed to a holdout, would not lead to fines. Hold-in measures typically take place by players in negotiations, but if the Giants are not planning to extend Lawrence this year, a plan to observe practices would lead to a distraction during Harbaugh’s first training camp with the team. Lawrence, who has fallen to 11th among interior D-linemen in terms of AAV, is due a nonguaranteed $18.5MM base salary this year.

The haul the Jets landed for Quinnen Williams — a 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 first and DT Mazi Smith — has come up regarding Lawrence, who earned All-Pro acclaim in 2022 and ’23 before a Pro Bowl 2024 slate that included a career-high nine sacks (in just 12 games). That might be a stretch given Lawrence’s down 2025 campaign and interest in a sizable pay raise. Chris Jones‘ $31.75MM-per-year deal leads DTs in AAV, with the next wave of interior D-linemen coming in south of $27MM per annum. Lawrence figures to at least be looking to bridge that gap, but it may take another year for the Giants to truly come to the table.

New York authorized an incentive package for Lawrence last year, and Harbaugh did not sound like he would appease a player who requested a trade. Lawrence returning to form under new DC Dennard Wilson would up his value ahead of the 2027 offseason, but the Clemson product making this stand now — before his 29th birthday — may be a wiser play than doing so next year (when he will turn 30). It just may be a while before a resolution arrives, and with Schoen losing considerable power this offseason, Harbaugh and Aponte’s views may matter more than the GM’s.

The Giants ranked 31st against the run last year with Lawrence suiting up for 17 games. They have been linked to adding D-linemen, and D.J. Reader visited Monday. But Lawrence will be quite difficult to replace — especially with this draft class not teeming with DT options. The Giants, who hold the No. 5 overall pick, will not be expected to address their D-line until at least Round 2.

It would surprise if Lawrence is moved by next week, with our Adam La Rose viewing Thibodeaux as the more likely player to be dealt this year. But Schoen making it clear he will listen does keep the door open to Harbaugh (who now holds the personnel hammer) deciding to add assets ahead of his first Giants draft.