With the defensive tackle spot a big position of need for the Chicago Bears, many thought that they would be in the running for New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, but it didn't quite work out that way.
Lawrence had requested a trade from the Giants after contract negotiations did not go well for him. The Bears were expected to be in the conversation to acquire him.
ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter instead broke Bears fans' hearts by sharing the Cincinnati Bengals traded the 10th overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft to the Giants in exchange for Lawrence. It's the first time in the modern draft era that the Bengals gave up a top-10 pick in a trade for a player.
Bears won't be getting Dexter Lawrence after all
In reality, acquiring Lawrence was going to be a massive headache for the Bears if they got him in a trade. They would have tried to create cap space for him, as he was looking at a contract between $25 million and $30 million, while Chicago only had $1 million in cap space. There would have been a lot of restructures, player releases, and trades going on to make that happen.
Also, the trade compensation was not going to be competitive with what the Bears had. Chicago could have offered a first and second round in this year's draft for Lawrence, but the Giants now have two top 10 picks in the draft, so that's a great deal for them.
This will take the Bears back to the drawing board to figure out what to do at defensive tackle, as they really only have Gervon Dexter and Grady Jarrett as starters, but Jarrett's disappointing 2025 season doesn't leave Chicago with much hope at the position despite three free-agent signings. More than likely, the Bears still look at defensive tackle early in the draft, with guys like Clemson's Peter Woods still being viable options in the first round.
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It's unfortunate that the Bears couldn't get a trade done, but it was probably for the best. Now the team can shift its focus back to the draft and get younger on defense.
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