Tiki Barber: Trading Dexter Lawrence was best thing for New York Giants

Many fans, pundits, and former players of the New York Giants have been chiming in on the Dexter Lawrence saga these days. Big Blue sent their disgruntled three-time Pro Bowl nose tackle packing last weekend, dealing him to the Cincinnati Bengals for the 10th overall selection in the 2026 NFL draft. While many are lamenting the loss of the irreplaceable Lawrence in the middle of the Giants' defense, there are others who are seeing the silver lining in the situation.

Count former Giant great Tiki Barber, now a local on-air radio celebrity, as one who won't miss Lawrence. "It almost felt like Dex did not want anything to do with the New York Giants, at which point, good riddance," Barber said on his WFAN show on Wednesday. "Get him out of here.

Can't get him out of here quick enough. I think (head coach) John Harbaugh, making a very quick determination— with (general manager) Joe Schoen and (senior vice president of football operations and strategy) Dawn Aponte, obviously— that Dexter Lawrence did not want to be with the Giants. " Barber then delivered a stinging diatribe stating facts about Lawrence that can't be denied.

"They kicked him out of the door as quickly as possible, and it's the best thing that they could have done. And I said this two weeks ago, Dex, by the way he played, having nothing else, no other input, by the way he played, started to make himself a villain last football season," Barber said. "He was just dogging it.