Dexter Lawrence Reveals Career Goals After Signing Big Contract Extension

New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence might be among the league's newest multimillionaire club members, but don't expect the four-year, $90 million contract he officially signed Friday to change who he is as a person or what he still hopes to achieve in his still young career.

"My ultimate goal is to be legendary, to be a Hall of Famer," Lawrence told reporters after signing his new contract Friday as the team opened its annual rookie minicamp. "I got drafted; that's one step. Okay, let's have a good rookie year. Okay, let's not make the same mistakes the next year. Let's keep building until you get to where we're at, and I'm not where I want to be."

There's no reason to think that Lawrence, who had been the very picture of durability for the Giants and who has gotten better every year since entering the league as the 17th overall pick in the 2019 draft, won't eventually get to where he wants to be.

One of the hardest working guys on the team, Lawrence benefitted from a position change brought about by defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, who decided to have Lawrence play more exclusively at nose tackle than at the 3-technique, where he had taken 482 snaps in 2021.

Lawrence said he aimed to be one thing regardless of where he was asked to play.

"I'm a disruptor," he said. "You talking about position wise--what's your position? I'm a disruptor. Then the coaches helping you create that confidence continue to help you master your craft. I think (his success) was the totality of that, other than my position change.

"I just mastered it. I just learned my craft better. And I still have work to do, but I think that was just the confidence I built from that helped me be as productive as I could."

Lawrence said he never wanted to re-set any markets with his new contract, but he stressed that it was important to him to feel respected at the end of the day.

He praised the Giants leadership brass and, in particular, general manager Joe Schoen for being straight with him throughout the entire negotiation period, which gave him reason to believe his deal would get done sooner than later.

"I would say it went smoothly," Lawrence said. "I respect Joe, and he respected me. Just almost like a casual conversation. It was good. It was healthy. Obviously, you have head-butt moments, but at the end of the day I love them, and they respect me."

With his contract negotiations behind him, Lawrence is locked in on helping his team take the next step under Daboll and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.

“We have something going here; we’re building something special. You can see it from the outside, but from the inside, it’s even more beautiful. I’m excited for what’s going on.”

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