The New York Giants’ deal to trade Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns has come full circle after Big Blue agreed to a four-year, $90 million contract with the best player acquired in that deal.
All-Pro nose tackle Dexter Lawrence II agreed to terms on a lucrative contract extension on Thursday, May 4, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. As Schefter’s colleague Field Yates pointed out, “When the Giants traded Odell Beckham, Jr. to the Browns, one of the primary pieces they got in return was the 17th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. That pick became Dexter Lawrence. A home run use of that pick.”
Trading Beckham in a deal that involved picks and players was followed by three straight seasons with double-digit losses for the Giants, a streak broken by 2022’s 10-8-1 campaign and a return to the payoffs for the first time since 2016. Lawrence’s performances were a major reason why the Giants returned to relevance as he dominated offenses during a banner year.
Now the player drafted in the top 20 four years ago is getting paid like what he is, namely one of the premier defensive tackles in the NFL. Resolving the 25-year-old’s immediate future means attention can turn to fellow Pro-Bowler Saquon Barkley‘s next deal.
Dexter Lawrence Deal a Necessity for Giants
Lawrence couldn’t have timed his breakout season any better. He earned All-Pro status right at the moment when the market for players at his position was set to explode, with Dan Duggan of The Athletic putting what Lawrence received into context next to his peers who also got richer this offseason.
Whatever the comparison, Lawrence earned his payday after tallying 7.5 sacks and 68 tackles, including 7 stops for loss. All of those were career-best numbers for a player who responded brilliantly to the arrival of Don ‘Wink’ Martindale as defensive coordinator.
Martindale loves to blitz, but even he was able to rein in his attacking instincts because of Lawrence. No. 97 was a one-man pass rush at times, on his way to generating an eye-popping 36 pressures to go with 19 quarterback knockdowns, per Pro Football Reference.
With Lawrence running riot, the Giants were able to rely on a four-man rush more often later in the season. Not only did the approach help cover for deficiencies in the secondary, it also led to big plays like this sack against NFC East rivals the Washington Commanders in Week 15.
On 3rd & 4, Taylor Heinicke sacked by Dexter Lawrence .. NYG challenge the play for a fumble
#Giants 17 #Commanders 12 4th
The Giants were always going to make sure they kept Lawrence for the long haul. Now, general manager Joe Schoen can focus on the next big contract on his to-do list.
Giants Have 1 More Contract Problem to Solve
For his part, Schoen intends to resume talks with Barkley about a new long-term contract. Barkley’s value is obvious since the running back carried the load in both phases of the offense last season by rushing for a career-high 1,312 yards and tying for the team lead with 57 receptions.
Keeping Barkley has to be a priority, but balancing the books won’t be easy. The full numbers aren’t known yet, but Lawrence’s terms will further impact a team just $1,815,947 under the salary cap, according to Spotrac.com.
As Duggan pointed out, the restructured contract given to Lawrence could create additional space, but the latter isn’t the only one who should see his deal reworked. Lawrence’s fellow defensive lineman Leonard Williams is still set to carry a cap hit worth $32,260,000 this year.
Williams is a natural candidate for a restructure, but any developments in that area are still to come. For now, Schoen and the Giants can celebrate the coup of keeping Lawrence on the heels of picking up the fifth-year option of All-Pro left tackle Andrew Thomas.
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Giants Agree to Deal With All-Pro Acquired From Odell Beckham Jr. Trade