Giants’ Dexter Lawrence demands trade

John Harbaugh has his first on-field crisis as Giants head coach.

Star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence has asked to be traded, according to ESPN. The three-time Pro Bowler and the team “have been through two offseasons attempting to negotiate a contract reflecting his value to the team over the past three years,” according to the report, “but there has not been any progress.”

Lawrence’s future has been topic of speculation for a while now. The 28-year-old is coming off a down year and has no guaranteed money remaining on his current contract, which is now well below the top of the market at his position. There was also a whisper campaign of sorts about Lawrence’s effort last season. Former Giants linebacker and current radio analyst Carl Banks ripped Lawrence on a podcast with broadcast partner Bob Papa — a curious case of two team employees publicly criticizing another. Lawrence then fired back and said Banks was “delusional.”

Harbaugh called Lawrence a “cornerstone player” earlier this offseason. General manager Joe Schoen has offered up word salads whenever asked about Lawrence recently.

So what now?

Lawrence’s desired endgame will play a big role. If this is a ploy to get paid, it could probably work. Especially if Harbaugh wants him on the roster. Because no matter how much Schoen, the Giants and their shills claim otherwise, this is his show now. If Harbaugh wants to pay up and Lawrence just wants to be paid, he’ll stay put.

But it’s certainly possible Lawrence wants to get paid AND get the hell out of town. The Giants have largely stunk during his career and he’s watched several former teammates leave and win championships. There is also the Schoen of it all. Talks clearly have not been productive for some time (shocker). And the Banks thing sure felt like a call coming from inside the building. There may be no number Lawrence would take to stay, at which point it becomes about how much draft capital the Giants can fetch for him. And whether losing Lawrence changes Harbaugh’s calculus on letting Schoen stick around.