The New York Giants are facing up to the reality they may have to trade away star man Dexter Lawrence before the NFL Draft.
According to NFL Network on Tuesday, talks between the Giants and the defensive star over a new contract have stalled in recent days.
Lawrence demanded a trade earlier this month and has not been present at the start of the Giants’ first offseason practices under new head coach John Harbaugh.
The team has been in engaged in possible trade talks regarding Lawrence with a number of teams and now they may be forced to pull the trigger.
The NFL Draft takes place in Pittsburgh next week and the Giants are in desperate need of picks to refresh their roster for Harbaugh. They only have two picks in the top 100 at present.
Speculation over a breakdown in talks with Lawrence’s representatives came just hours after Giants GM Joe Schoen said negotiations had been ‘productive’.
The New York Giants are facing up to the reality they may have to trade away Dexter Lawrence
The Giants could secure draft picks for new coach John Harbaugh in exchange for Lawrence
‘We’ve had good conversations with his representatives throughout the last five or six days,’ Schoen said.
‘Coach [John Harbaugh], [senior vice president of football operations and strategy] Dawn [Aponte], myself, we’ve all been in communication, trying to find some resolution.
‘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.
‘But conversations have been really good, they’ve been productive and we’ll see what happens here down the road.’
The All-Pro defensive tackle, 28, inked a four-year, $90million contract extension in 2023. However, since then defensive contracts have rocketed, pushing Lawrence’s deal down to No. 11 in the league.
Furthermore, the Giants have undergone a major overhaul, losing a number of star players that Lawrence was close to, including the likes of Saquon Barkley.
Lawrence was drafted by New York with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft and the tackle has played the entirety of his seven-year career.
He has earned three Pro Bowl nods throughout his career, as well as being picked as a second-team All-Pro twice.
The Clemson product has recorded 30.5 career sacks, five forced fumbles and an interception.
However, his numbers saw a dip last season, when he was limited to just half a sack, eight quarterback hits and a pass rush win rate of 8.3 percent for a 4-13 team.
