Dexter Lawrence's trade request isn't going to function like the battering ram it might have been intended to be.
That's the stance the Giants are taking on the matter, at least. General manager Joe Schoen spoke with reporters Tuesday ahead of next week's draft and delivered an optimistic take on the current strained relationship with the star defensive tackle.
"I'm not going to get into if there's a deadline or not. He's under contract for two more years," Schoen said of whether the Giants felt a sense of urgency to handle the matter. "We're not going to put any deadlines on anything. Right now we're having productive conversations and we'll see where it goes."
With contract negotiations failing to progress, Lawrence requested a trade last week and made clear he will not be in attendance for New York's offseason workout program. The development certainly wasn't a surprise. Lawrence and the Giants had failed to gain ground on a new deal in each of the last two offseasons and Lawrence's name circulated prior to the 2025 trade deadline, clearing plenty of space for the trade request to materialize sooner rather than later.
"We've had good conversations with his representatives throughout the last five or six days, coach (John Harbaugh), (senior VP of football ops and strategy) Dawn (Aponte), myself, we've all been in communication, trying to find some resolution," Schoen said. "I'll echo what coach said last week. 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's Tuesday media session was his first since the request, providing the GM with his first opportunity to address it publicly and establish a stance. It was a hopeful one, but wasn't quite as firm as other teams have handled similar matters (e.g., Cleveland's refusal to entertain a Myles Garrett trade), and left the door open to a potential deal if the offer is suitably lucrative.
"I'm always going to pick up the phone," Schoen said. "So if a team calls, maybe not to the effect that coach (Harbaugh) said last week that everybody is tradeable, but that is my job as a general manager: If teams call you, take into account, it's case-by-case basis and what the compensation may be. That's my job, to take in consideration what that looks like, who the player is, how that affects the roster and try to make the best decision after that."
Schoen has already proven in his tenure that no player is untouchable. He likely won't want to revisit his front office's fumbling of contract negotiations with Saquon Barkley in 2024, leaving the door open for the star running back to join the rival Eagles and immediately win a Super Bowl with his new team.
Barkley and Lawrence are players of different calibers. Lawrence was seen as a defensive pillar in recent seasons, earning three straight Pro Bowl nods from 2022-2024 and two second-team All-Pro selections in that span, but saw his performance decline as part of a bottom-fourth defense in 2025. At 28 years old, he knows he has one more chance to cash in with a lavish extension, but New York might not be interested in investing in him again.
All it could take is one phone call from a team making the right offer. For now, though, Schoen will try to walk the line between trading and repairing their relationship.
