FRISCO, Texas — Dexter Lawrence will not be in the middle of the New York Giants defensive line Sunday night, and T.J. Bass said Thursday that “no one was disappointed” when the Giants traded him.
New York sent Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals in April for the 10th overall pick, and Cincinnati gave him a one-year, $28 million extension, NFL.com reported. The deal was first reported April 18, five days before the first round of the draft. The Giants drafted Lawrence 17th overall in 2019. He made three Pro Bowls from 2022 to 2024 and had half a sack in 17 games last season.
Bass starts at left guard for the Dallas Cowboys in Sunday’s opener at MetLife Stadium with Tyler Smith on injured reserve. Smith had thumb surgery Tuesday and is eligible to return in Week 5 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The first game of a season is always a little weird for an offensive line, especially against a defense with turnover, Bass said.
“We do look at Tennessee film a good bit,” Bass said. “And first game of the season is always a little weird, especially when they have turnover. And then they had a lot of turnover on the interior of their D-line too. Like guys getting hurt and then obviously Dexter getting traded or whatever happened. So it’s a little more difficult, but you can find the film and you can get a good gist of what they’re trying to do.”
Giants defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson held the same job with the Tennessee Titans the past two seasons.
Klayton Adams On The Giants’ Front Seven After The Dexter Lawrence Trade
The Giants took Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese at No. 5 and used the pick from Cincinnati on Miami offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa. New York still added to its front seven, just with a different piece, according to Cowboys offensive coordinator Klayton Adams.
“I think they went and drafted a defensive guy like right after that,” Adams said. “I think they still added to their front seven, just a different piece. Obviously, Dexter Lawrence is a great player. But the guy that they brought in the first round looks like he’s going to be a really good player too.
“I would still say that they’re adding to their front at the end of the day, and maybe it’s not an interior piece, but I think what they’ve done to their front seven has been pretty impressive,” Adams continued.
Adams said the Cowboys will have to find where each Giants pass rusher lines up as the game goes.
“There’s just so many of them,” Adams explained. “There’s times where you can kind of tie one guy down and say, we’re going to give this guy all the attention. And you anticipate going into a week when you got an elite pass rusher that you’re going to have a plan like that. And when there’s three or four of them, it’s difficult.
“So you’re going to have to coach on game day a little bit to figure out where so-and-so’s at and figure out where so-and-so’s at, and try to detail your plan as you go on game day when you find out,” Adams added. “You always have to do that in week one. But week one with a new staff and some new pieces, we’re going to have to.”
T.J. Bass Starts At Left Guard With Tyler Smith On Injured Reserve
Bass signed with Dallas as an undrafted free agent out of Oregon in 2023. He has played in 48 games with 10 starts. This offseason, the Cowboys put a second-round tender on him as a restricted free agent.
Bass always prepares as if he is going to play, because weird things happen in the league, he said.
“No, I wouldn’t say it’s different, because really it’s almost a little easier knowing that I’m going to start rather than going in mid-game,” Bass explained. “I find that to be a lot more tough than having the preparation throughout the week. Nothing really changes. I always prepare as if I’m going to play because you never know what’s going to happen in this league. Weird things happen all the time. Now nothing will change.”
The question behind the tender was whether the staff would be OK with Bass as a starter, Adams said.
“I’m not 100% sure how many starts he has now, but the discussions that we had in the offseason when we were trying to figure out exactly what the tender is going to be with an undrafted free agent is, would you be okay with this guy as your starter in this league?” Adams said. “And I think that we definitely feel that way as we look at him like he is a starter. When he has to go in and play, just like he’s going to have to the next several weeks or whatever, we expect him to play starting and winning football for us.”
Left guard is the more natural spot for Bass, since it is all he played in college. He spent most of camp at center, backing up that position for the first time.
All camp, Bass has gone against defensive tackles Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark, two of Dallas’ four captains. He called them “probably the best in the league duo-wise” and said that work has been helpful for everybody.
Kickoff Sunday is 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.
