The Bengals may have caught plenty of heat for the Dexter Lawrence move, but the contract side of that trade is looking better by the day.
Cincinnati sent away the No. 10 pick for a defensive tackle who was coming off one of the roughest seasons of his career. That alone made the deal a lightning rod, with the idea being that Lawrence was healthy entering the 2026 season and more prepared to help immediately than any defender the Bengals could have taken at No. 10.
What’s making the trade look sharper now is the money attached to it. When Cincinnati landed Lawrence, he was already under contract for the 2026 and 2027 seasons. The Bengals then added another year to the deal, and they’re now positioned to pay him roughly $51 million over the next three seasons.
That number has only become more appealing as the market around him keeps climbing.
Jeffrey Simmons has already signed a deal that will pay him upwards of $35 million per year. Then on Tuesday, Jalen Carter reset things again with a contract that could reach $40 million annually. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Carter’s deal includes $106 million guaranteed over the next four years.
Lawrence, by comparison, has no guaranteed money left on his contract over the next three seasons.
That’s the kind of detail that gets lost when a trade first breaks. The headlines focus on the player and the pick, but the contract is part of the package too - and in this case, it’s a major reason the Bengals came out well. Cincinnati still gets a chance to see Lawrence become the centerpiece of its defensive rebuild, but it also has built-in protection if things don’t go as planned.
For a player of Lawrence’s caliber, that’s a bargain. He’s on one of the league’s best contracts for an All-Pro defensive tackle, and the deal should keep aging well as more big-money extensions come down the line for players like Quinnen Williams, Byron Murphy, and Vita Vea.
The Bengals have taken their share of criticism for how they handle contracts and roster construction. On this one, though, they were ahead of the curve.
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Bengals May Have One Overlooked Pass Rush Target Still Out There
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