Dexter Lawrence's trade request from the New York Giants set off a minor earthquake around the league. Unhappy with his contract, the Pro Bowl nose tackle is looking to get paid elsewhere. It would only be natural for the Green Bay Packers, who have no nose tackle to speak of, to sniff around the situation.
While a Lawrence trade remains strictly hypothetical, the implications of such an investment further down the defensive line would be all but certain. In making the trade, the Packers would spell out their stance on Devonte Wyatt's future in Green Bay.
Any team acquiring Lawrence must be prepared to commit long-term. That would mean tacking an extension onto the two years and $34 million in base salary remaining on his Giants contract.
The Packers also have a decision to make on Wyatt, who is entering the final year of his rookie deal on a fifth-year option. To extend him or not, that is the question. Adding Lawrence would effectively end that debate ahead of schedule.
Trading for Dexter Lawrence would make Packers' decision for them regarding Devonte Wyatt extension
Wyatt is already a controversial extension candidate. Though solidly productive, the former first-round pick has not quite matured as a reliable force in the teeth of the Packers' defense. In 57 career games, Wyatt has a total of 16 sacks and 21 tackles for loss. Last season, Pro Football Focus ranked him 88th among 134 interior defenders with a grade of 52.9.
Poor run defense negates his strength as a pass rusher. Wyatt isn't a nose tackle, and he isn't expected to do the same kind of dirty work in the trenches, but his flaws against the run stuck out like a sore thumb in Kenny Clark's absence up the middle.
Swapping out Colby Wooden for Javon Hargrave should be a net gain, but it further impairs the Packers' ability to stop the run. Adding a nose tackle is thus a high priority, and while bold, investing in Lawrence could make sense.
It would also cost more than extending Wyatt. Lawrence is playing on a four-year $87.5 million contract. By annual value, that makes him the 12th-highest paid interior lineman in the NFL, per Spotrac (no, Trey Hendrickson doesn't count). Lawrence, a three-time Pro Bowler and PFF's ninth-graded DT last season, evidently believes he is worth more.
While he and Wyatt do not overlap positionally, the Packers only have so much money in the bank to spread over a number of looming extensions. Among others, Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Tucker Kraft, and Lukas Van Ness will all require new contracts in the near future.
Even by reproducing his pedestrian 2025 numbers, Wyatt should command a decent contract in free agency. In that case, Green Bay would be better off replacing him.
Investing heavily in Lawrence would leave them little alternative.