Dexter Lawrence is on the verge of being traded, and these 5 teams are a perfect fit

John Harbaugh was brought into the New York Giants as part of a culture shift, but one vestige remains from the previous era: Making star players angry. Learning nothing from alienating Saquon Barkley, GM Joe Shoen is repeating history once more — this time with All-Pro nose tackle Dexter Lawrence.

Rumors had swirled in recent weeks that Lawrence and the Giants weren’t seeing eye-to-eye on a contract extension, but now it appears things are much, much worse. A new report from Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News states that all conversations between the Giants and Lawrence have broken off, with the organization now pivoting to teams to look into potential trade scenarios.

There will be no shortage of suitors for Lawrence, and with the NFL Draft being just over a week away, presumably every team looking for DL help could be in on the Giants’ star. These are the teams that make the most sense.

Chicago Bears

This one is a little tricky to work out and keep Chicago under the cap, but everyone around the NFL finds ways of subverting their cap figures by kicking the can down the road.

The Bears are an absolute lock to look for a defensive tackle early in the 2026 class, and being a playoff team in win-now mode dictates that sending away the N0. 25 pick for Lawrence would make an awful lot of sense for them. This is a team in dire need of help to stop the run, and Lawrence’s all-consuming presence in the middle would also open up pass rushing opportunities for Montez Sweat.

Chicago is still building out its defensive front, but Dexter Lawrence is a hell of a way to jumpstart that process.

Los Angeles Chargers

There’s quite literally shared DNA here, opening the door for a Harbaugh-to-Harbaugh deal. Los Angeles has solid pass rushers who are utterly let down by their atrocious play in the middle of the line. While the team signed Dalvin Tomlinson as a stopgap solution, he’s really not good in the primary nose tackle role, with Lawrence being much, much better.

This is another playoff caliber team that could easily become a contender with just a move or two. Lawrence represents the kind of defensive shift needed to change everything.

Carolina Panthers

The Panthers aren’t shy when it comes to making big moves, and there’s already trade history with the Giants from the Brian Burns deal in 2024. There have been a lot of pre-draft comments from the Panthers about finding more weapons for Bryce Young, and that could very well be the case — but that could be a lot of smoke coming out of Charlotte too.

Bobby Brown III is the weakest part of the Panthers defense now, and Dexter Lawrence could make Carolina absolutely terrifying. A line with Derrick Brown and Lawrence, set off by Jaelan Phillips rushing off the edge could make for one of the better units in the NFL.

It would be a bold play, but the Panthers are looking to win right now while their window is open in the NFC South. This move would achieve it.

Dallas Cowboys

Put this on the very edge of being possible, but you can never, ever count Jerry Jones out of a big move. Dexter Lawrence would give the Cowboys the run stopping they crave, and pairing him with Kenny Clark gives a lot of push on the inside to stop big plays.

The biggest stumbling block here is imagining the Giants trading Lawrence inside their own division. An inside the NFC East trade could lead to a tax on the deal that’s untenable, and Dallas is unlikely to be willing to offer the No. 12 pick in a deal.

Tennessee Titans

The Titans are going through a culture shift right now and have an absolute boatload of cap space to make an extension happen. Anchoring their defensive line with Dexter Lawrence would be a huge boon for new coach Robert Saleh, but the question is compensation.

Giants fans can stop rubbing their hands together hoping for No. 4 overall — that isn’t happening. However, if the market for Lawrence is softer than expected, there might be a window to give up a high 2nd round pick in the deal. It makes a lot of sense for Tennessee, though it would be crushing for the Giants to lose a Pro Bowl DT and not get a 1st for him.

Are there any other teams you see being in a position to make a big deal for Dexter Lawrence?