Giants’ 6 biggest lingering issues, including Dexter Lawrence, as offseason workouts begin

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The Giants on Tuesday begin their first offseason workouts under new coach John Harbaugh.


An NFL team’s entire offseason program is voluntary, with the exception of a mid-June minicamp.


The Giants’ first practices under Harbaugh will come in the form of a voluntary minicamp from April 21-23. That is entirely closed to reporters.


Their 10 organized team activities practices will be conducted May 19-21, May 27-29 and June 1-4. Three of those are open (May 21, May 29 and June 3). And then the entire mandatory minicamp (June 8-10) is open.


After that, the Giants will be off until they begin training camp in late July — down in West Virginia this summer.


So with Harbaugh’s first Giants offseason program officially beginning Tuesday, let’s take a look at the biggest lingering issues for this team.


• Dexter Lawrence’s trade request: The obvious big one. This popped up on Monday. Lawrence — who wants a pay increase — has requested a trade. That doesn’t mean he definitely will be traded. This saga might just end with him getting that raise and sticking around East Rutherford. Or Harbaugh can play hardball with Lawrence and refuse to trade him or pay him more money — and then see what happens.


In the meantime, Lawrence won’t attend at least the voluntary portion of offseason workouts (unless he gets that pay bump, of course). It’s unclear if he also would be willing to sit out the mandatory minicamp, presuming he doesn’t get traded during the draft, which opens April 23.


• Malik Nabers, Cam Skattebo on the mend: Nabers is coming off a torn ACL. Skattebo sustained a dislocated ankle injury in 2025, cutting short his promising rookie year. Neither player will do on-field work during spring practices. And that’s just fine. The goal for both is training camp and, ultimately, being at full health for Week 1. They’re both critically important pieces for Harbaugh. No sense in rushing them.


• Jaxson Dart meshing with Matt Nagy: The Giants’ new offensive coordinator — who, remember, was not Harbaugh’s first choice for the job — needs to spend this spring working with Dart on and off the field to build a scheme around his strengths. It’ll be fascinating to see how Nagy adapts his approach to fit Dart’s skills. A lot of the Giants’ success (or failure) in 2026 will depend on how well (or poorly) Nagy does that.


• Hole at right guard: Greg Van Roten, last year’s starter, remains an unsigned free agent. But even if the Giants bring him back, he isn’t a long-term solution. It’s hard to imagine Evan Neal seizing the starting job, but he now has an opportunity to do just that — with a fresh slate under Harbaugh. Expect Harbaugh to take a swing at guard in the draft.


• Concerns at cornerback: Cor’Dale Flott’s departure in free agency was a big blow, especially since the Giants didn’t make a major move to replace him. (They still could, by drafting Mansoor Delane at No. 5.) Paulson Adebo needs to show this spring that last year’s struggles were an aberration. What can the Giants expect out of Greg Newsome? He’s not an All-Pro talent. Harbaugh also needs to see Year 3 progress from slot corner Dru Phillips, who regressed in 2025 after playing well as a rookie.


• Tremaine Edmunds taking charge: Bobby Okereke is out, and Edmunds is in at middle linebacker. Which version of Edmunds will the Giants get? Remember, he performed unevenly during three seasons in Chicago. Harbaugh needs Edmunds to not only set a tone as a run stopper — the Giants were putrid in that area last year — but also as an overall defensive leader. That process begins this spring.

MORE GIANTS COVERAGE​

• Stephen A. Smith sounds alarm on coworker’s future: Somebody will ‘scoop him up’
• 5 teams that could trade for Giants star Dexter Lawrence
• Giants star requests trade | What could they get for him?
• Giants’ trade target took pay cut to not go to New York: ‘Didn’t want to leave’

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