The Cincinnati Bengals' blockbuster Dexter Lawrence trade was one of the most shocking moves of the offseason. Perhaps most shocking, in retrospect, was how much of a gap there is between Lawrence's contract and the latest market-resetting extension, courtesy of Philadelphia Eagles star Jalen Carter.
The Bengals traded the No. 10 pick for a defensive tackle coming off one of the worst years of his career. And while that move earned some mixed results among NFL analysts, the thought process was that he is healthy going into the 2026 season and he is more ready to contribute right away than any defensive player who would have been available at No. 10.
But one part of the trade that many detractors didn’t factor in when the trade went down was the contract. When the Bengals acquired Lawrence, he was still under contract for the 2026 and 2027 seasons.
Cincinnati quickly tacked on another year to Sexy Dexy's deal and are now set to pay him roughly $51 million over the next three seasons. That contract looks better by the second, and for all the heat Duke Tobin and the Bengals' front office has endured, they clearly got it right on this move.
Bengals were ahead of the curve on Lawrence trade
When the Bengals acquired Lawrence and gave him an additional year on his contract, they did so knowing that there were several elite defensive tackles still needing contracts. Since the deal, Jeffrey Simmons signed a contract that would pay him upwards of $35 million a year. And on Tuesday, Jalen Carter signed a contract that could pay him as much as $40 million per season.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Carter’s new deal will pay him $106 million guaranteed over the next four years. Meanwhile, Lawrence has no guaranteed money left on his contract over the next three seasons. Obviously, the Bengals are hoping that he plays out the contract and earns every dollar of his deal. They want him to be the foundational piece of their defensive rebuild.
But the point is that the Bengals have given themselves an out if the deal goes poorly and more importantly, they have one of the league’s best defensive tackles on a well-below market contract.
When trades happen, all we hear about are the player and the compensation. But the contract is rarely discussed and I would argue that is the most important part of a deal. You aren’t just trading for a player. You are trading for a contract. And Lawrence now has one of the best contracts on the market for an All-Pro player.
And with players like Quinnen Williams, Byron Murphy, and Vita Vea all likely to get new deals in the next 12 months, Lawrence’s deal will continue to age well. The Bengals get a lot of flak for how they handle contracts and roster building, but this is a move that they got right, and it has been proven that they were ahead of the curve. Â
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