Dexter Lawrence doesn’t know much about tattoo removal and hopes he never has to learn.
Lawrence inked the Giants’ “NY” logo on his right biceps after his rookie season, showing a permanent commitment to a team that at the time only was tied to him for four years. The Giants later exercised their former first-round draft pick’s fifth-year option to keep him from free agency until 2024, but Lawrence’s breakout season and a defensive-tackle contract market on the cusp of exploding might have changed the dynamics.
“I do want to be a Giant forever. I got it tatted on me,” Lawrence told The Post. “I love this organization, the people in it and what it means. I grew up a Giants fan. If it is meant to be, it will be.”
The $12.4 million that Lawrence is due in 2023 once seemed like a fair price for an elite run-stuffer. It looks like a severe underpay after Lawrence led the playoff-bound team with a career-high 7.5 sacks, made his first Pro Bowl and was the NFL’s highest-graded interior defender against the pass and run by Pro Football Focus.
“I’m not getting into all that. You only control what you can control and I play football. You hire people to do other things, just like I don’t massage myself,” Lawrence said of his negotiation. “I think I have a lot more to prove, but I feel like this is my best season ever and there’s no ceiling for me, pretty much.”