Giants Re-Structure Dexter Lawrence; Jihad Ward and Parris Campbell Depart

Dexter Lawrence – © USA TODAY Sports

GIANTS RE-STRUCTURE DEXTER LAWRENCE…
In order to create more salary cap space, the Giants have re-structured the contract of defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence. Last year, the Giants and Lawrence agreed to a 4-year, $90 million contract extension that included a $22 million signing bonus and $60 million in guaranteed money.

In the re-structuring, the Giants have converted $10 million of his base salary into an additional signing bonus, creating $7.5 million in additional cap space. Lawrence’s base salary in 2024 was set to be $16 million.

VIKINGS SIGN JIHAD WARD…
The Minnesota Vikings have signed New York Giants unrestricted free agent outside linebacker Jihad Ward. In his second season with the Giants, Jihad Ward remained a solid but unspectacular player whose value came more from reliability and veteran presence in the locker room. Ward played in all 17 games with nine starts, finishing with just 24 tackles, five tackles for losses, a career-high five sacks, nine quarterback hits, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. He played in 59 percent of all defensive snaps.

The 6’5”, 287-pound Ward was originally drafted in the 2nd round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders. He has spent time with the Raiders (2016-2017), Dallas Cowboys (2018), Indianapolis Colts (2018-2019), Baltimore Ravens (2019-2020), and Jacksonville Jaguars (2021). The Giants signed Ward as an unrestricted free agent from the Jaguars in March 2022. Ward has played in 102 regular-season games with 35 starts, 20 of which have come with the Giants in the past two seasons.

EAGLES SIGN PARRIS CAMPBELL…
The Philadelphia Eagles have signed New York Giants unrestricted free agent wide receiver Parris Campbell. The contract is reportedly a 1-year deal.

The Giants signed Parris Campbell as an unrestricted free agent from the Indianapolis Colts in March 2023. After a solid training camp, Campbell did not deliver the goods despite playing in the first 12 games with three starts. Wan’Dale Robinson took his slot position and Campbell ended up being declared inactive by the team for the last five games. Campbell finished with just 20 catches for 104 yards (5.2 yards per catch).

The 6’1”, 208-pound Campbell was originally drafted in the 2nd round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Colts. He had an injury-plagued first three seasons in Indianapolis, missing extensive time in 2019 (sports hernia, broken hand, broken foot), 2020 (MCL and PCL knee injury), and 2021 (broken foot). From 2019-2021, he only played in 15 games, catching a total of 34 catches for 360 yards and two touchdowns. Campbell finally played in all 17 games in 2022 with 16 starts. He finished the year with 63 catches for 623 yards and three touchdowns.

To see an overview of the Giants’ free agent activity, see the New York Giants 2024 Free Agency Scorecard section of the website.