Lions seal Alim McNeill's fate in stunning Lions-Giants mock trade

Sometimes, unexpected opportunities to add talent come. The Detroit Lions mostly take advantage of those opportunities in the draft, but general manager Brad Holmes should have his eyes on any opportunity anywhere it may come from and just such an opportunity is here.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence has requested a trade and will not participate in the team's offseason program.

Lawrence's desire for a new contract, as Schefter added, has been a thing now into a third offseason with no progress.

Lawrence is entering the third year of a four-year, $90 million extension he signed in May of 2023. That $22.5 million average made him the third-highest-paid defensive tacke in the league at the time, but he's now tied for the 11th-highest paid defensive tackle.

Lawrence's run of consecutive Pro Bowl selections ended at three last season, as his sack total dropped from nine in 2024 to just 0.5. But Pro Football Focus was still pretty high on his work though, grading him as their 11th-best defensive tackle in 2025 with the seventh-highest pass rush grade (84.5) at the position.

Now, the conversatiom turns to if the Giants will seriously entertain trading Lawrence. And if so, what it might cost to get him. On a contract level, Michael Ginnitti of Spotrac has outlined those implications.

Lions seal Alim McNeill's fate with huge mock trade

One of those defensive tackles who has a higher per-year average than Lawrence is Alim McNeill. The Lions signed the 2021 third-round pick to a four-year, $97 million deal in October of 2024. Then he suffered a torn ACL a couple months later, and in 10 games last season he was clearly not the same player.

It has been easy to think the Lions jumped the gun on paying McNeill and/or they overpaid him, with or without the major injury. It's legitimately worth wondering if it was a mistake now. At minimum, McNeill's contract is the greatest piece of evidence that Lawrence deserves a raise.

Of course the Lions' trading McNeill in the middle of a big contract doesn't come without consequences. According to Over The Cap, a pre-June 1 trade would leave behind $17.86 million in dead money. A post-June 1 trade, by comparison, would leave behind just $4.96 million in dead money with $24 million in cleared cap space.

With the financial implications in mind, and the general idea it may take a first-round pick to get Lawrence, here's a trade proposal the Lions could uniquely make.

If it takes parting with a 2027 second-round pick along with McNeill to get Lawrence, so be it. The Lions can offload McNeill's potential albatross contract, then reinvest those funds (and then some) into a better player at the same position to maximize their current window to win a Super Bowl.

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The Giants have a different coaching staff now, of course, but Joe Schoen was the general manager when the Lions paid a vist in Week 11 of the 2022 season. McNeill had a career day that day, setting a (then, if not still now) the single-game PFF record for quarterback pressures by a defender weighing over 320 pounds (10).

So maybe, just maybe, Schoen or anyone else who remains in the Giants' front office remembers that day back in 2022. So then, maybe, McNeill and a Day 2 draft pick would stand out among potential trade offers for Lawrence.

With a contract adjustment a prerequisite to get a trade to the finish line, the Lions are probably already out on Lawrence. But on the other hand, with a player they can part with to sweeten a deal and create space to fit Lawrence onto the books, the Lions are in a position few teams are if trade talks genuinely get rolling.