Mike Kafka Reveals Dexter Lawrence's Reaction to Having Snaps Limited Due to Injury

Lawrence was banged up but wanted to be out there for the start of overtime, only to be held back.

New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

A day after the New York Giants drew harsh criticism for not having had defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence II on the field for the opening drive of the overtime period against the Detroit Lions, interim head coach Mike Kafka shed a little more light on the matter.

Kafka, who told reporters after the Giants blew a 10-point lead against Detroit that Lawrence was nicked up and that they were saving him for obvious pass-rushing situations, said that Lawrence was “in tears” on the sideline when he was kept off the field during crunch time. 

But Kafka, who said that Lawrence's physical condition was brought to his attention, which helped facilitate the decision to limit his snaps, believes they did right by the Giants’ defensive captain despite the optics.

“I thought that was the right thing to do in handling it, and hats off to Dexter for toughing it out and working through that because he got dinged up pretty well,” Kafka said. 

“I mean, this guy was in tears on the sideline, just wanting to be out there with the players. And he gave us his all.”

Lawrence, for what it’s worth, played in just 27 snaps in the Week 12 loss to the Lions, his second-lowest total since Week 5 when he appeared in 33 snaps. And even though he hasn’t had a statistically productive season as he has in the past,  

Lawrence has still drawn a heavy load on most weeks, in which he’s seen his usual amount of double teams.

This season, Lawrence has posted 24 tackles, two tackles for a loss, and just a half sack to go with three pass breakups and one interception. 

Of his 24 tackles, 21 have come in the run game, and nine of those are solo efforts per official league stats.  

That all said, Lawrence’s injury is something to keep an eye on for the coming week as the Giants limp into Week 13’s Monday Night Football meeting at New England.

The Giants, who will then have a bye the following week, will close out the season with three of their final four games at home, two of which will be against the Commanders and Cowboys.

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