Brandon Beane needs to act now as Bills have defensive star available who would bring transformative impact to the roster
The Buffalo Bills have a chance to add a generational talent to the defense, but does general manager Brandon Beane pull the trigger? With the draft rapidly approaching, the situation surrounding superstar defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence just got a lot more interesting.
The Buffalo Bills have a lot of work to do ahead of the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft, but what if they just say goodbye to their first-round pick?
It’s been reported that New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence is available via trade, and general manager Brandon Beane should be doing everything in his power to bring Lawrence into Buffalo. He’s a one-man wrecking crew on defense, and Buffalo could absolutely use his services. Remember how bad the run defense was in 2025?
Dexter Lawrence wants out, and Brandon Beane should be making some calls
The latest update from the Giants is that Lawrence wants a new deal that reflects the current IDL market, if not a trade. He’s under contract with the Giants for the next two seasons, and they are trying to come to a resolution. However, if they can’t, the team is going to take the best of whatever trade offers they get.
For New York, it’s about getting an offer they can’t refuse, and the whole situation is similar to that of the New York Jets debacle with Quinnen Williams.
Williams was dealt at the trade deadline and had previously requested to be traded. The Jets weren’t going to move him until they got an offer they couldn’t refuse, which wound up being a second-round pick in 2026, a first-round pick in 2027, and Mazi Smith.
It’ll cost a king’s ransom to bring Dexter Lawrence to Buffalo
For Beane, he’d have to offer at least Buffalo’s first-round pick in 2026 to make the deal work. And even that might not be enough to sway the Giants to part ways.
However, it’s not too often that a generational talent like Lawrence comes along. Maybe tossing a second-round pick in 2027 along with wide receiver Keon Coleman could sweeten the pot.
Another issue is the money. If Buffalo brought in Lawrence, how the heck would they be able to pay him? Buffalo would need to create around $6 million in cap space to acquire Lawrence’s 2026 salary of $18.5 million before restructuring. Fortunately, they could do that in one single move. Offensive lineman Dion Dawkins hasn’t been restructured this offseason, and that move alone would free up $11.3 million in available cap space.
So in theory, Buffalo could trade for and navigate the tight cap situation to acquire Lawrence. Since entering the league in 2019, Lawrence has 327 tackles, 207 big stops, 307 total pressures, and 35 sacks. Just imagine that kind of production on the defensive line.
And that’s really what this comes down to.
If Beane truly believes this roster is one dominant piece away from getting over the hump, then this is the kind of swing you take. You don’t play it safe, you don’t sit at No. 26 in the draft and hope a rookie develops, you go get a proven game-wrecker.
Because players like Lawrence don’t hit the trade market often, and when they do, it’s usually for teams bold enough to push all their chips to the center of the table.
The Bills have circled “Super Bowl or bust” for years now. This would be the move that proves they mean it.
