Giants' Dexter Lawrence Requests Trade, Skips Voluntary Offseason Workouts

The New York Giants opened their voluntary offseason program Tuesday without the 340-pound linchpin who usually anchors the middle of their defense — and, according to multiple reports, with no guarantee he will be back.

Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II has requested a trade and informed the team he will not participate in voluntary workouts, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Monday, citing league sources. The Associated Press separately reported the same development, citing three people familiar with the situation. As of Monday evening, the Giants had not issued a public statement confirming the request, and there were no on-the-record comments from Lawrence or his representatives.

The reports arrive just as New York begins its first spring under new head coach John Harbaugh and raise immediate questions about the future of one of the roster’s most decorated players.

What happened

Lawrence, 28, has been a central figure for the Giants since they drafted him 17th overall in 2019. The 6-foot-4 defensive tackle is a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time second-team All-Pro who emerged as one of the league’s most disruptive interior defenders from 2022–24.

Harbaugh, hired in January, publicly framed Lawrence as foundational to his defense. “How important is he? Really important. He's super, super important,” Harbaugh said in February. “He's a cornerstone football player -- not really a cornerstone, more like the middle stone. He's right in the middle. He's a very big stone, and he's a very active, athletic one.”

According to reports, Lawrence has told the team he will not attend voluntary OTAs. Offseason training activities in April and May are voluntary under the collective bargaining agreement and teams cannot fine players for missing them; however, Lawrence would forfeit a $500,000 workout bonus if his contract ties that payment to participation.

Contract and cap implications

Lawrence signed a multiyear extension in the 2023–24 period that runs through 2027. Public databases list the new-money portion at roughly $87.5 million–$90 million, with about $46.5 million fully guaranteed at signing. The AP reported he is due base salaries of about $20 million and $19.5 million in the final two years of the deal.

For 2026, Lawrence is scheduled for an $18.5 million base salary and a $500,000 workout bonus, with a total cap charge near $27 million, according to cap-tracking sites Spotrac and OverTheCap. If the Giants trade him before June 1 they would incur roughly $13.9 million in dead cap this year while freeing up a similar amount in immediate space; a trade after June 1 would allow New York to spread remaining charges over two seasons.

The reported trade request follows at least two offseasons of negotiation over Lawrence’s deal. ESPN’s report said Lawrence and the team have discussed adjusting his contract for two straight years, but those talks have not produced a new agreement.

GM Joe Schoen, speaking generally about roster construction at the NFL annual meeting, mentioned Lawrence as one of several players with whom the club is having conversations about extensions to open cap room.

On-field picture

Lawrence’s résumé includes both peak production and recent inconsistency. He had a career-high nine sacks in 2024 before dislocating his left elbow on Thanksgiving, an injury that cost him late-season time. He returned to start all 17 games in 2025 but posted just 0.5 sacks and roughly 31 tackles, career lows; Pro Football Focus and similar services still credited him as a positive interior presence, though not at the elite level of 2022–23. Pro-Football-Reference lists 30.5 career sacks through the end of 2025.

Any team acquiring Lawrence would be betting the 2025 dip was an outlier — or a lingering injury effect — and that he can recapture the form that made him one of the league’s highest-graded interior defenders.

Market and possible suitors

The defensive tackle market has accelerated since Lawrence signed his extension, with blockbuster deals for players such as Chris Jones and Jeffery Simmons resetting the top of the position and raising average annual values. That shift helps explain why Lawrence’s current contract has become contentious.

Media analysis has pointed to a short list of theoretical fits based on cap room and roster need, including the Houston Texans, Los Angeles Chargers, Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens. There have been no confirmed trade talks or offers reported.

What the Giants face

For New York, the timing is delicate. The franchise is retooling a roster that missed the playoffs in 2025 while installing Harbaugh’s systems. Trading Lawrence would create meaningful dead money and remove a player who has often drawn double teams and collapsed pockets from the interior, complicating defensive plans built around him.

At the same time, moving Lawrence could provide cap flexibility and draft capital the front office might value as it reshapes the roster.

What’s next

The next financial inflection point is June 1, when the accounting for a trade shifts, and later in the summer if Lawrence misses mandatory activities (which can carry fines). Whether the request leads to a trade, a revised contract or a return under the current deal remains unclear. High-profile trade demands in recent history have sometimes produced blockbuster moves and sometimes become leverage that ends with the player staying put.

For now, the Giants’ offseason begins without the player Harbaugh called their “middle stone,” and with one of the franchise’s core relationships suddenly in question.