{"id":203213,"date":"2026-04-20T12:02:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T12:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/203213\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T12:02:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T12:02:11","slug":"dexter-lawrence-says-he-has-new-fire-following-new-york-giants-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/203213\/","title":{"rendered":"Dexter Lawrence says he has new ‘fire’ following New York Giants trade"},"content":{"rendered":"

April 20, 2026, 5:59 a.m. ET<\/p>\n

In his first public comments since being traded from the New York Giants<\/a> to the Cincinnati Bengals, nose tackle Dexter Lawrence expressed renewed motivation and excitement about his fresh start.<\/p>\n

The blockbuster deal, completed on Saturday, sent the three-time Pro Bowl nose tackle to Cincinnati in exchange for the Bengals’ No. 10 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft. The Giants, now armed with the fifth and 10th selections in the first round, continue their roster rebuild.<\/p>\n

Lawrence, who had requested a trade after contract negotiations stalled with New York, quickly agreed to a one-year, $28 million extension with the Bengals that keeps him under contract through the 2028 season.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In an interview with Bengals radio voice Dan Hoard<\/a>, Lawrence reflected on the move that ended a lengthy offseason process.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey wanted me here and they appreciated the work that I\u2019ve put in over the last seven seasons,\u201d Lawrence said. \u201cI appreciate that and I\u2019m going to do everything I can to show them that they didn\u2019t waste [a top 10 pick]. I\u2019m excited. I\u2019ve got a fire in me that I\u2019ve never had before, so I\u2019m excited. I\u2019m excited to be a Bengal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.<\/a><\/p>\n

He described the lead-up to the trade as a \u201clong process\u201d but noted immediate excitement upon learning the Bengals were a potential destination. Lawrence credited his faith for helping him through the uncertainty.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod got me through it, and right now, I\u2019m ready to let my light shine and go win some games,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Acknowledging the high expectations that come with being acquired for a premium draft asset, Lawrence embraced the challenge rather than feeling burdened by it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know people are going to say [there\u2019s] pressure, but I embrace it,\u201d he said. \u201cI bring it in. It doesn\u2019t affect me, the pressure. I just know who I am and I\u2019m going to stay true to that. I\u2019m going to be the guy to help this defense go to the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2024 Pro Bowler delivered a career-high 9.0 sacks in 12 games that season but saw limited production in 2025.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"April 20, 2026, 5:59 a.m. ET In his first public comments since being traded from the New York…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":203214,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[679,9,11,10,1941,1942,948,9725,950,930,932,1328,4080,949,682],"class_list":{"0":"post-203213","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-accessfree","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-headlines","11":"tag-new-york-news","12":"tag-sstssportsnflgiants","13":"tag-sstsngiants","14":"tag-tagamerican-football","15":"tag-tagdexter-lawrence-ii","16":"tag-tagnational-sports","17":"tag-tagnew-york-giants","18":"tag-tagnfl","19":"tag-tagoverall-positive","20":"tag-tagsmg-timely","21":"tag-tagsports-news","22":"tag-typestory"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203213\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}