The New York Giants wanted to find another pass rusher to pair with Kayvon Thibodeaux this offseason, and they landed one of the NFL‘s best young talents on Monday.
Big Blue acquired edge defender Brian Burns from the Carolina Panthers, sending a 2024 second-round pick and a 2025 fifth-round pick to the Panthers while extending the 25-year-old on a massive long-term extension.
Brian Burns Trade and Contract Details
Rumors began to link Burns to the Giants on Monday, the first day of the NFL’s legal tampering period. Reports suggested that New York and Carolina had been discussing a potential trade for a while and that any deal was contingent on Big Blue agreeing to a new contract with Burns.
The Giants will send the No. 39 pick — their original second-round choice — to the Panthers. New York will hang onto pick No. 47, which it acquired in November by trading defensive tackle Leonard Williams to the Seattle Seahawks.
Of course, the Giants aren’t only sacrificing draft capital to acquire Burns. General manager Joe Schoen, head coach Brian Daboll, and the club’s ownership group were also comfortable extending Burns — assigned the franchise tag by Carolina — near the top of the edge-rushing market.
New York is giving Burns a five-year extension with a maximum value of $150 million, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. He could become the league’s second-highest-paid edge defender behind the San Francisco 49ers’ Nick Bosa, depending on the base value of his deal.
Why the Giants Traded for Burns
New York ranked 18th in pressure percentage in 2023 but had to blitz at the NFL’s second-highest rate (45.4%) to get there.
Wink Martindale, the Giants’ former defensive coordinator, designed that blitz-heavy attack. But he’s no longer around, having resigned earlier this year after multiple interpersonal conflicts with Daboll.
New DC Shane Bowen doesn’t want to send extra pass rushers nearly as often as Martindale did. Bowen’s Tennessee Titans blitzed at just a 22% rate in 2023.
New York needed another force player along the front seven that it could rely on to generate consistent pressure. Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence is the NFL’s best pass-rushing nose tackle, while Thibodeaux came into his own as his rookie campaign progressed.
But Burns will add a new dimension to the Giants’ pass-rushing plan. An athletic marvel, Burns has been incredibly consistent for the Panthers, posting at least eight sacks and 18 QB hits in four straight years.
And perhaps most importantly, he won’t turn 26 years old until next month.
Young, talented, franchise-caliber pass rushers like Burns don’t often become available. Good on the Giants for striking and adding a premier talent at a minimal draft cost.
Grade: B+
The Panthers Should Have Traded Burns Earlier
Carolina infamously rejected a Burns package from the Los Angeles Rams in 2021 that reportedly included two first-round picks and a second-round selection.
It’s not worth beating a dead horse. But to drop from that sort of offer to today’s package of a second-rounder and a future fifth can’t be labeled anything other than a disaster.
The Panthers had more chances to deal Burns at last year’s trade deadline, when the Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars, Atlanta Falcons, and Baltimore Ravens were among the teams to reach out to Carolina with interest. Again, they declined.
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If the Panthers had turned down those offers and then given Burns the long-term deal he’s planning to sign with the Giants, it still might have stung — but it would have stung less.
Rejecting those proposals and then walking away with a second and a fifth is a catastrophe.
Former Carolina general manager Scott Fitterer turned away those previous Burns offers. First-year Panthers GM Dan Morgan was part of the club’s front office at that time but may not have had decision-making authority.
There might be something to be said for Morgan not chasing a sunk cost after losing out on the Rams’ offer two years ago, but that’s hardly a salve for Panthers fans.
Grade: D
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