Dexter Lawrence had long been “a dream target” for Bengals, but previous trade requests were rejected

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - OCTOBER 13: Joe Burrow #9 of the Cincinnati Bengals is sacked by Dexter Lawrence II #97 of the New York Giants during the second half at MetLife Stadium on October 13, 2024 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Cincinnati Bengals’ shocking trade for Dexter Lawrence seemed to come out of nowhere.

But apparently the Bengals’ front office was just operating in silence.

“[April] wasn’t the first time the Bengals made calls checking on Lawrence’s availability,” Paul Dehner Jr. wrote in a piece on how the trade went down for The Athletic. “A player they loved coming out of Clemson and feared lining up against for the Giants long represented a dream target worthy of a call. The answer was always the same.”

“We just had the door shut on us with it,” assistant GM Steven Radicevic is quoted as having said in the article.

Then, when Lawrence made a public trade request, things started changing.

One important piece to the puzzle was Lawrence’s desire to play with some of the Bengals’ players.

“Not only did Lawrence want to play with Joe Burrow, but a close friend and former teammate BJ Hill and good friend Tee Higgins, his former Clemson teammate who did the Sexy Dexy celebration at the Pro Bowl this year, helped move the money into a digestible range,” Dehner Jr. wrote.

You can read the entire article here.

We talked about the unprecedented trade in our most recent show.