Cincinnati Bengals left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. thinks New York Giants All-Pro defensive tackle and former Clemson star Dexter Lawrence would look great in a Bengals uniform.
During an appearance on Up & Adams with NFL personality Kay Adams, Brown — a four-time Pro Bowler — made a recruiting pitch for Lawrence to join Cincy when asked about the idea of the Bengals trading for him.
“Dexter Lawrence is a baller,” Brown said. “I think he’d be even more of a baller in orange and black. I don’t know how that kind of stuff goes, necessarily. I don’t have all the answers.”
Lawrence made headlines on April 6, when reports emerged that he requested a trade and was not expected to participate in the Giants’ offseason workout program. The 28-year-old is seeking a new contract after two offseasons of stalled negotiations. He has two years remaining on the four-year, $90 million extension that he signed in 2023, and is currently scheduled to make $20 million this upcoming season.
The thought of having Lawrence in Cincinnati is intriguing for Brown.
“I think it’d be great. He definitely would make our football team better,” Brown said.
“And to be honest, it’s not a lot of teams he wouldn’t make better, man. He’s a special talent. You see him right here on some of these highlights. He’s a baller, man, and I’ve got a ton of respect for him and his game.”
Adams herself called for the Bengals to be the team that makes a big splash and trades for Lawrence.
“This Dexter Lawrence situation — nothing else has really happened, and it’s still up in the air somehow,” Adams said. “So here’s what I understand — he demanded a trade last week. If the Giants are actually going to deal him, can we get Orlando Brown to play the agent and make it happen? Because Bengals, this could be your chance to make a move.
“They still have $20 million in cap space this year. They’re top 10 in projected cap space next year. Now is the time to use it, especially since you’ve got to think they can land [Lawrence] without giving up a first-round pick. There’s no better use for that cap space than on a guy who has consistently been one of the best — if not the best — interior defensive linemen in the league for like five years over.”
By his lofty standards, the 6-foot-4, 340-pound Lawrence is coming off a down 2025 campaign, his seventh with the New York Giants. In 17 games (all starts), he tallied 31 total tackles, four tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, eight quarterback hits, four passes defended and an interception that he returned 37 yards.
Lawrence’s number of sacks, tackles and quarterback hits in 2025 were all career lows. However, there’s no doubt that Lawrence has established himself as a dominant presence on the interior of the Giants’ defensive line.
Prior to the 2025 season, Lawrence collected three straight Pro Bowl selections from 2022-24 and also earned All-Pro honors in the 2022 and 2023 seasons. He became the first Giants player to be voted to three straight Pro Bowls since safety Landon Collins from 2016-18, and if he hadn’t suffered a season-ending elbow injury in 2024, he could have very well earned his third consecutive All-Pro selection as well.
Heading into his eighth NFL season in 2026, Lawrence has racked up 341 total tackles, 40 tackles for loss and 30.5 sacks in 109 career games (102 starts) since being selected by the Giants in the first round (17th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft.
NFL.com’s Kevin Patra listed eight potential landing spots for Lawrence, one of which is the Bengals.
“Cincinnati usually shies away from making splash moves, particularly when it comes to shipping out draft assets,” Patra wrote. “The club is also top-heavy with contracts and might not love the idea of shelling out for a player turning 29 years old. But after losing Trey Hendrickson, the defense could use an upfield force. Pairing Lawrence with free-agent veteran Jonathan Allen would immediately upgrade a problem area for Cincy’s defense a year ago. The postseason comments from Bengals stars underscored the need to improve the defense in 2026. Making a big play for Lawrence might be out of character for Mike Brown’s club, but it would certainly make Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase happy.”
First-year Giants head coach John Harbaugh recently shared his thoughts on Lawrence requesting a trade.
“We’ll find out, you know. I think the prospects are going to be high,” Harbaugh said, when asked what he thinks the prospects are of Lawrence remaining with the team. “Because, speaking for the Giants, we want Dexter here, and I believe Dexter wants to be here. That’s a good formula. But there’s business involved. It’s a business proposition. We know it’s pro football. These things happen every year, pretty much on every team.
“So, not surprised by it. I saw it coming a few weeks back probably. Had good conversations with Dexter’s agent Joel Segal, and understood what they were thinking. This is where we’re at, so we’ll try to work through it and see what we can get done.”