Giants sign interior defender, could shut down star defensive tackle for rest of 2023

New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II (97) looks on before the game against the Green Bay Packers at MetLife Stadium
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Giants are gearing up for the possibility that superstar interior defender Dexter Lawrence will miss the next few games. Lawrence is currently dealing with a hamstring injury that has limited him over the past few weeks, forcing him to miss a game.

On the season, Lawrence remains the team’s best all-around player. Over 590 snaps, he’s produced 59 pressures, including six sacks. Impressively, he recorded six total pressures over just 29 snaps against the Green Bay Packers in the Giants’ Week 14 win.

The Giants are Lucky They Locked Lawrence in Long-Term

The 26-year-old signed a massive $90 million contract extension, including $60 million in guaranteed money this past off-season. He will remain with the Giants for the next four years, locking down one of the best interior defenders in the game.

However, with his hamstring injury potentially shutting him down, the Giants brought in reinforcements on Thursday afternoon, signing defensive tackle Timmy Horne off the Falcons’ practice squad.

Horne, also 26 years old, was a former undrafted free agent in 2022 out of Kansas State. Last season, he played 385 snaps, collecting five pressures and 16 tackles. He played just 52 snaps this year, producing one tackle and a pressure. Of course, the Giants will prefer to roll with A’Shawn Robinson and Rakeem Nunez-Roches, two players who have stepped up with Lawrence ailing.

The Giants have three games left until the end of the 2023 season, a year they will likely try to forget, coming off a 2022 campaign that saw a playoff win in the Wild Card.

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