Brian Daboll, Joe Schoen and the New York Football Giants are right in the middle of a crucial offseason for the current regime. When it comes to retaining internal talent, that discussion mostly stopped once the Daniel Jones/Saquon Barkley situation was settled. But there’s another dude who should be getting a big payday in the near future: defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.
When New York famously declined Jones’ fifth-year rookie contract option last spring, they also picked up the one for Lawrence. While that locks the Pro Bowler in with Big Blue for 2023, he’s due to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year.
Not if the Giants have anything to say about it, though.
Negotiations between both sides have been ongoing. Here’s what ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler had to say about what’s happening at the moment (quote via Bleacher Report):
The Giants have been talking to Lawrence and his reps about a potential deal. Nothing has come together yet. But that defensive tackle market is huge right now because Daron Payne, another in the NFC East with Washington, they gave him over $22 million per year. So, Lawrence is going to have to be at least somewhere close to that, maybe $20-plus million. And you have Jeffrey Simmons in Tennessee. You got Quinnen Williams in New York. So, defensive tackle’s where the money’s going to be.
As with the case with most huge NFL contracts, simply hearing the annual average value paints only a small part of the picture. We’ve seen that plenty of times, most recently with New York’s four-year extension with Jones. What’s really going to matter is the guaranteed money that’s in the deal.
Payne’s four-year, $90 million deal with Washington includes a $28 million signing bonus, $45 million fully guaranteed, and up to $60 million in total guarantees. Whether Lawrence’s perceived salary crests over $20 million per year doesn’t really matter. However, with the way the defensive tackle market is going, it looks like he could reach that number anyways.
A breakout campaign from Dexter Lawrence last season led to new career-high marks across the board. This includes sacks (7.5), total tackles (68), solo tackles (35), passes defended (three), and forced fumbles (two). Now, he’s looking to cash in on that performance. The likelihood of that happening appears quite high.
MORE ON ESNY:
• Mets-Marlins takeaways: No Edwin Diaz? No problem for bullpen
• We need to talk about Yankees unretiring numbers … again
• Mets’ Kodai Senga has a ‘Ghost Fork’ glove, and it’s amazing
• Justin Verlander-less Mets look good on hill during opening weekend
• Gary Cohen unleashes hilariously great call for Mets’ Jeff McNeil
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
