Evan Barnes: Giants' John Harbaugh's first test —handling Dexter Lawrence's unhappiness
Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and head coach John Harbaugh. Credit: Ed Murray; AP/Ross D. Franklin
John Harbaugh’s honeymoon continued on the first day of the Giants’ voluntary offseason workouts Tuesday. Players introduced themselves. Harbaugh introduced himself.
But one face was missing — Dexter Lawrence. It’s the first rift in a smooth transition for Harbaugh.
How he deals with Lawrence, one of his best players, is also his first test to prove the Giants’ trust in him was valid. Lawrence, seeking a raise, demanded a trade on Monday.
“We want Dexter here, and I believe Dexter wants to be here,” Harbaugh said. “That’s a good formula. But there’s business involved. It’s a business proposition. We know it’s pro football, and these things happen every year, pretty much on every team.”
Harbaugh knows this too well. While coaching the Ravens in 2023, he dealt with quarterback Lamar Jackson demanding a trade. Jackson relented and signed a five-year, $260 million extension and was named the league’s MVP after the season.
Lawrence is arguably just as valuable to the Giants’ defense. He’s a three-time Pro Bowler and a team captain since 2022. He’s one of the NFL’s best defensive tackles and a face of this franchise, along with quarterback Jaxson Dart.
“Dexter is a hell of a player,” said offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, who faced him last year on Kansas City’s staff. “He’s been doing it a while, and [I have] a lot of respect for him. I just know that when we played him last year, we had to know where he was on every play.”
Yet three things are true:
1. Lawrence turns 29 in November.
2. He has no guaranteed money left on the last two years of his deal.
3. He’s gone from the third-highest paid defensive tackle by average annual salary to the 12th.
He’s also coming off his worst season. This is what Harbaugh and the front office is considering with Lawrence seeking a raise. Invest because of the distant past or stop short due to the recent past.
With Jackson, things were easier because Harbaugh trusted the relationship after drafting Jackson in 2018. That’s not the case now. Even though Harbaugh said he saw this news coming a few weeks ago, there’s no rooted relationship with Lawrence to lean on, besides a few conversations.
“I knew Lamar at that point. We’ve been working together for like five years,” Harbaugh said. “It’s not quite that way with Dex. I don’t know Dex as well but I think it’s the same in the sense of just understanding it’s part of the business of the job. It’ll get resolved. It’s going to work out.”
Harbaugh has to hope so. But he gave a cryptic comment later when asked about another player with a less than certain future.
Kayvon Thibodeaux is in the final year of his contract and the linebacker was mentioned in trade talks last season. Harbaugh praised Thibodeaux for being in great shape and said he’s looking forward to plugging him into his defense
Yet Harbaugh added this: “You want to talk about if he’s a trade possibility. Everybody’s tradable. Everybody.”
It was a reminder that nobody’s safe. The Giants waived linebacker and team captain Bobby Okereke in March for salary-cap space. Anybody can be moved if it doesn’t serve Harbaugh or the team’s future.
Yet there’s a flip side to putting your stamp on the team. Everyone may be tradable, but you don’t just do it without counting the costs. Harbaugh has been a successful NFL coach but he understands business.
Lawrence is too important to a Giants’ defense that must get better. He’s earned the right to seek a raise given his resume and being the team’s longest tenured player, along with Darius Slayton.
Harbaugh didn’t seem too worried. When he and Lawrence spoke several weeks ago, he said the conversations were positive about working together.
That’s all good. Because how Harbaugh handles this will determine how he sets his culture. He and the front office must make Lawrence feel appreciated or oblige his wishes. Harbaugh seems inclined to do the former.
“Dexter wants to play, we want him to play,” Harbaugh said. “How it’s all going to shake out, we don’t control that. We’re not given to know the future.”
It’s a dance Harbaugh’s done before. How he moves this time around could determine how long this honeymoon vibe lasts between him, the team and a fan base eager to taste wins again.
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
