Pro Football Rumors
Dan Duggan of The Athletic (subscription required) says Giants left tackle Andrew Thomas is currently heading down a path similar to the one charted by the club’s former defensive tackle, Dexter Lawrence, though he believes there may be a different outcome in Thomas’ case. Both players were first-round draft picks – Thomas was selected in 2020, one year after Lawrence – and both signed second contracts near the top of the market for their respective positions in 2023.
With two years but no guaranteed money remaining on his deal, Lawrence angled for a revised accord this offseason. Player and team were unable to make much headway, so Lawrence requested a trade in April. New York obliged, shipping him to the Bengals in exchange for a first-round pick.
The Giants restructured Thomas’ deal for cap purposes this offseason, and while that maneuver generated future signing bonus and restructure prorations, there will be no guaranteed money to be paid to Thomas after 2026. Unlike Lawrence, however, Thomas is under club control through 2029, so he is not exactly in position to request a new round of negotiations or a trade.
Nonetheless, Duggan believes New York is willing to reward Thomas with a raise and avoid a Lawrence-esque parting of the ways if the blindside blocker stays healthy and performs to his usual standard in 2026. The former has been something of an issue for Thomas in recent years.
The 27-year-old has missed at least four games due to injury in four of the last five seasons. A Lisfranc injury limited him to a career-low six games in 2024, and he missed the first two contests of 2025 as he recovered from that ailment. He also missed the final two games of 2025 due to a hamstring issue.
While he has not earned any Pro Bowl or All-Pro acclaim to date, Thomas consistently plays at a high level. Pro Football Focus assigned him above-average grades for his work in 2023 and 2024 and considered him an elite performer in 2022 and 2025. He earned a mark of 90.3 in both of those seasons, which put him in the top-five among all qualified players.
At present, Thomas’ $23.5MM/year accord places him seventh among left tackles. A healthy, productive campaign in 2026 could put him higher up the pecking order despite the years of team control that remain on his deal.
On the flip side, the Giants could part ways with Thomas in the ‘27 offseason if things do not go according to plan. The team would be hit with a $24.82MM dead money charge if it were to cut him prior to June 1 next year, but such a move would still generate over $5MM in cap savings. A post-June 1 transaction would create $19.4MM of room while leaving a more palatable $10.55MM in dead money on the ‘27 ledger.
