Giants IDL Dexter Lawrence II On Daniel Jones's Benching, State of Team, and More

During a one-on-one interview, New York Giants defensive leader Dexter Lawrence II opened up on various topics.

Nov 8, 2024; Munich, Germany; New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II (97) during a press conference at the FC Bayern Munchen training grounds at Sabener Strasse. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

New York Giants defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence is reminded every day that the NFL is a business, so he tries not to take anything beyond his control too personally.

But when it has come to quarterback Daniel Jones, who, like Lawerence, was a first-round draft pick in 2019 and with him Larence has grown close as a friend, Lawrence admitted to being saddened—and perplexed--over the quarterback’s benching.

“He's my brother, so I feel for him, and I pray and hope that his next opportunity--which will happen--that he runs with it, and be as good as he can be, and show and prove himself right,” Lawrence said during an appearance at the Community Food Bank of New Jersey in Hillsdale, NJ where he was on hand to help promote the Chunky Sacks Hunger campaign.

Lawrence admitted that he doesn’t always understand the thought process behind the coaches' and front office's decision-making, but he trusts those above him to do the right thing.

“I'm a New York Giant right now, and for me, I think I have to be, I guess, a little naive to trust the coaches, and trust the process, and not grow weary of that process that they have for us,” he said.

“And I do; I have a lot of trust and respect for the ownership, the GM (Joe Schoen), and the head coach (Brian Daboll). So for me, that's easy for me to do. But as my brother, I feel for him.”

Lawrence, who, like the rest of his teammates, welcomed the bye last week, is back somewhat refreshed and ready to play out the remaining seven games of the season. As one of the team leaders who has his finger on the general pulse of the locker room, Lawrence reported that the overall mood among his teammates since coming back from the bye has been positive.

“I think the mood is good, honestly,” he said. “Obviously, it is not good that we are losing, but good as in we still care about each other and no one is pointing fingers. We're not having any of that.

“We’re laughing together, playing cards, still hanging out... And you know, just being normal, even though the record isn't what it's not supposed to be. So, I think it's positive and strong, and that's kudos to some of the leaders on the team.”

As one of the leaders, Lawrence has been much more vocal about helping younger teammates who are not used to this kind of adversity navigate it.

“You know, just it's the NFL. I think this is an opportunity to show them how critical every little thing is and how detailed you have to be to win in this game,” Lawrence said.

“It's not just showing up and hoping your athletic skills help you make a play. I think the knowledge of the game is what has to be learned by a lot of guys, including myself. I still have a lot of knowledge to learn about this game. I think it's positive, but it's not where we want the record to be.”

Turning to his partnership with Campbell’s Chunky Soup, Lawrence is doing his part on and off the field to help the soup giant fight hunger. The soup giant has teamed with the NFL for a third season to donate 1,000 meals for every sack recorded this season to Feeding America.

Lawrence, whose league-leading nine sacks have contributed to the Giants’ 36 (second behind the Denver Broncos’ 39), is responsible for 25% of the 36,000 meals coming from the Giants’ defensive efforts.

Lawrence hopes that he and his teammates can generate many more sacks in these last seven games.

“Growing up, I always ate Campbell's soup--it was my favorite thing to eat. But as I learned more about the initiative behind it, that kind of helped me motivate me a little more this year to make it more than just about myself,” he said.

“So initially, it was because I loved Campbell's. But now I've grown more to love the initiative behind it.”

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