With habitual trader Kwesi Adofo-Mensah out of the picture, the Minnesota Vikings will almost certainly be less active in the trade market this year. However, that doesn’t mean that they’ll stand completely motionless. After all, Kevin O’Connell and Brian Flores will likely be very intent on bringing in more of their guys with that highway now completely opened.
And while the blockbuster trades involving quarterbacks Joe Burrow or Lamar Jackson might capture the fans’ hearts and imaginations, the Vikings may be better suited to pursue a more measured — and realistic — opportunity.
His name has been brought up with the Vikings in the past, but a major change in New York might open the door even further for a possible Dexter Lawrence trade. The nose tackle is coming off a disappointing season in which he tallied a career-low one-half sack, and the recent hire of new head coach John Harbaugh may spell the end for Sexy Dexy in the Big Apple.
Harbaugh’s intentions are obviously unknown, but there’s no question that there needs to be some big changes made for a New York Giants team that has just seven wins over the past two seasons. The Vikings may not be an obvious destination at first, but there are plenty of reasons why a deal for Lawrence could be in the cards.
After inexplicably giving Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen a combined $40 million in guaranteed money, the Vikings got bailed out by UFL darling Jalen Redmond. While the aging Hargrave and Allen failed to live up to their contracts, Redmond had a breakout season, notching six sacks and 12 tackles for loss. Cutting Hargrave this offseason seems like a forgone conclusion. Meanwhile, a Redmond contract shouldn’t break the bank, given the small sample size of his newfound success, presenting the Vikings with a great opportunity to go out and land Lawrence for a modest price.
A year or two ago, Lawrence likely would have fetched a first-round pick. Now at 28 years old and coming off one of his worst seasons as a pro, the price could be something like a second-round pick and a fifth. Luckily for Minnesota, they still somewhat miraculously possess their own second-round pick and have a fifth-round pick from the Philadelphia Eagles after dealing Vikings legend Sam Howell. It’s a promising deal considering Minnesota could still lock up other pressing needs like cornerback, center, and safety, all with first- and third-round selections.
The issue with a Lawrence deal is that his $26 million cap hit looks daunting, especially given Minnesota’s existing problems with highly paid, underperforming veterans. But the Vikings still employ cap wizard Rob Brzezinski, and finding a way to bring that number down shouldn’t be a major concern. Lawrence might not have had the gaudy numbers in 2025 to justify that contract and show he’s still a top-three nose in the game. However, his Pro Football Focus numbers paint a rosier picture.
Hate them or love them, PFF graded Lawrence ninth out of 134 qualified defensive tackles, and his 84.5 pass-rush grade ranked seventh among that same group. So, although his sack numbers were way down from 2024, his pressures and hurries were still those of a dominant player. At 28, he still likely has at least two elite seasons left in him, which is the exact number of years left on his current deal. Crazy how that works out.
So while the trade could be looked at as just a two-year rental, there’s plenty of evidence that those types of deals have worked out in the past. After years with the Denver Broncos, Von Miller helped the Los Angeles Rams win a Super Bowl and then departed for the Buffalo Bills in the following months. It’s not a perfect recipe, but the Vikings have built their roster to compete, and adding a game-wrecker like Lawrence seems like a better allotment of assets than for, say, a cornerback, who are much more volatile year-to-year. See: Byron Murphy Jr.
With Redmond, Allen, and Lawrence up front, and Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Dallas Turner on the edge, the Vikings would unequivocally have the best defensive front in the NFL. Is it an embarrassment of riches up front while the team rolls out a suburban dad coming off a men’s league knee injury at CB3? Sure, but when there’s a realistic and cost-effective path to get a top-five talent at the position, it can be worth the sacrifices elsewhere.
With Harbaugh potentially looking to shake things up in New York, a Dexter Lawrence acquisition could be just what the Vikings need to inject some life back into the interior of the defensive line. Could he also play quarterback and kill two birds with one stone? That answer could take some more digging. Still, there’s no question that if Minnesota is willing to part with a Day 2 pick, the post-sack celebrations in 2026 would be worth that price alone.
