'Felt Like We Needed To Take a Swing' - Bengals Assistant GM Details Run Up to Dexter Lawrence Trade

One of the first guests on Monday’s official launch of Cincinnati’s only morning sports show – “First Word” – was Cincinnati Bengals assistant general manager Steven Radicevic.

“First Word” co-host Marisa Contipelli sat down with Radicevic for a 22-minute conversation, and the chat began where you would expect, with the trade with the New York Giants for defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.

“We felt like we needed to take a swing, and we did” Radicevic said. “We feel like he's not only going to be able to impact our club this year, but for future years and hopefully get us to what our goal is.”

Acquiring an All-Pro defensive tackle sounds like a no-brainer on the surface, but figuring out how to extend Lawrence’s contract on a roster with a few other mammoth ones presented a challenge.

“There’s a lot of meetings on it,” Radicevic said. “You have to make sure that you're able to fit him on the cap, right? And Katie and Troy (Blackburn) did a good job of making that happen.”

Once the financial aspect was in place, the Bengals front office pivoted to discussions on what they were willing to part with to acquire Lawrence.

It ended up being the No. 10 pick in the draft, which the Giants used to select offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa.

“We had to make sure the competition was right with the Giants,” Radicevic said. “Again, that was a lot of meetings, conversations. And then once you get comfortable enough to pull the trigger, we were able to do it.”

Radicevic said the whole process took “a few weeks,” but even when the negotiations were finished, the deal wasn’t done.

As the rest of the NFL world found out earlier in the offseason, “pending a physical” can be much more than a formality after the Baltimore Ravens backed out of the trade they agreed on with the Las Vegas Raiders for Maxx Crosby.

“We were able to negotiate and try to get the contract in a good place with his representatives, but even then you didn't feel great about it because you still need to bring him out and you need to go through the physical part of it,” Radicevic said.

“We brought him out, everything checked out, and it is a huge sigh of relief when you're able to finally finish that process.”

Bengals' Vetting of Dexter Lawrence Focused on the Person as Much as the Player

Most of the vetting before deciding to move forward with trade negotiations involved the Bengals using their ears more than their eyes.

There wasn’t much need to break down Lawrence’s film from his first seven seasons in the NFL.

“We did all our research. We did all our homework on him,” Radicevic said. “We've talked to players that have been around him, we talked to coaches that have been around him. We felt like he was going to be someone that would be able to come in and elevate our locker room, elevate our club just as a person.

“Now, as a player, the tape pretty much speaks for itself,” he added. “He's constantly taking on double teams. He's able to split the double team. He's still able to affect the quarterback just in terms of who he is as a pass rusher and how much power he has to collapse a pocket. And we felt like that was something that we were missing last year.”

It will be a few more months before players vote on team captains for the 2026 season, but you can be sure that Lawrence will be one.

It’s not just the elite talent he brings to the team, but the personality and leadership that has left everyone in the organization equally as excited as the fan base about Lawrence’s arrival.

“You feel the energy in there every day with the players working out,” Radicevic said. “There is a difference. Just you can feel the energy and the presence that he brings in that locker room.

“There are players that I see following him through the locker room, trying to learn from him. Obviously the experience that he has in this game, they’re trying to pick little things here and there from him and.

“All in all, you can just feel the energy from the club out there now.”

Watch Contipelli's full interview with Radicevic below:

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