NY Giants Host 335-Pound D-Lineman as Possible Replacement for Dexter Lawrence

The New York Giants are widely expected to sign a veteran defensive tackle to their roster after the draft, following their trade of Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for the No. 10 overall pick in this year’s draft.

While it’s widely believed that the Giants will be signing free-agent DJ Reader, who visited with the team last week, Big Blue is apparently continuing to do due diligence regarding who is out there. As such, New York hosted Dolphins free agent defensive tackle Benito Jones for a visit on Tuesday, according to the league’s daily personnel action wire.

Jones, 6-foot-1 and 335 pounds, was originally signed as an undrafted free agent out of Ole Miss following the 2020 draft by the Dolphins. He lasted one season in Miami, appearing in 6 games after being promoted from the practice squad.

After failing to make the Dolphins the following summer, Jones was claimed off waivers by the Detroit Lions, where he played two seasons. During that stint, Jones appeared in 34 games, including 30 starts, for Detroit and was part of the Lions team that reached the postseason in 2023.

He returned to Miami in 2024, where he started 23 of 31 games over that two-year period. Jones ended last season on injured reserve due to a back injury.

Jones has appeared in a total of 71 regular-season games with 38 starts over his five-year career and has 83 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 14 quarterback hits, three pass breakups, and 3.5 sacks.

OBJ Not Missing from Last Two League Personnel Reports

Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is said to want to return to the Giants. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

In other NFL personnel report news, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr, who was reported to have had a workout and a physical with the Giants on Monday, was not listed on either the Monday, April 20, or Tuesday, April 21 report.

It’s unclear whether that is because Beckham was not with a team last year, making it unnecessary to report the visit, or whether his visit with the Giants was of a different nature than what was originally reported.

Beckham has been dropping all kinds of hints about wanting to reunite with the team that initially drafted him in the first round of the 2014 draft.

The former LSU receiver had some of his best statistical seasons with the Giants, logging 5,476 receiving yards over his five-year career, including four seasons topping 1,000 yards.

Beckham was traded to the Browns one year into a contract extension he had signed with the Giants following the 2017 season. He went on to win a Super Bowl with the Rams in 2021, but along the way, he also suffered two ACL injuries, one while with the Browns and the other during the Rams' Super Bowl.

Beckham also spent one season with the Ravens and John Harbaugh, then the head coach of Baltimore, and was with the Dolphins in 2024.

Beckham was out of football last season.

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