Giants acquire Brian Burns from Panthers, give him $150 million in seismic trade splash
That sound you heard was the splash made by the Giants late on the first day of NFL free agency.
What was shaping up to be a day more about who walked out the door instead became a strong opening salvo from a team that needs help in so many areas.
One of those areas — improving the pass rush — was addressed in a big and bold way, as Giants general manager Joe Schoen traded with the Panthers for edge rusher Brian Burns and then signed him to a five-year contract worth $150 million.
The Giants sent a 2024 second-round pick — No. 39 overall — and a 2025 fifth-round pick to the Panthers in exchange for Burns.
The Giants now still have one second-round pick — No. 47 overall, acquired from the Seahawks in the trade for Leonard Williams — as well as the No. 6 overall pick in next month’s draft.
The teams also swapped 2024 fifth-round draft picks, the Giants sending No. 141 overall to the Panthers in exchange for No. 166 overall.
This news came after the Giants saw Saquon Barkley leave for the Eagles and Xavier McKinney go to the Packers.
What does this say about how Schoen wants to assemble his roster? He will not extend financially for players at positions — running back and safety — he does not consider premier positions to invest big money in.
Edge rusher? Now that is a spot where Schoen is willing to spend.
One way to look at this: Burns’ average per year is $27.5 million, which is the combined total APY that Barkley received with the Eagles and McKinney got with the Packers.
So, the Giants acquired a young edge rusher for the money they would have needed to spend to keep a running back and safety.
The Giants are going to blitz far less often this season than they did the past two years playing for Wink Martindale.
With newly hired defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, the emphasis will be more on upfield pass rush from the front group.
Pairing Burns with Kayvon Thibodeaux, with Dexter Lawence applying pressure up the middle, gives Bowen the firepower he needs to run his system.
Burns in 2019 was a first-round pick by the Panthers out of Florida State.
The Panthers this offseason placed the franchise tag on Burns, worth $24 million for the 2023 season, with the likelihood that they would try to deal him to avoid paying that money.
Any team trading for him would first have to get him signed to a long-term extension.
The Giants pulled it off, making Burns the second highest-paid defensive end in the league.
Burns is a quality and developing pass rusher.
He turns 26 on April 23 and in his first five NFL seasons has 46 sacks and two Pro Bowls on his résumé. He had eight sacks in 2023.
He has been remarkably durable, playing in 80 games and rarely coming off the field.
Since 2021, Burns has 28 sacks, 157 quarterback pressures and 33 quarterback hits, according to Pro Football Focus.
The player most happy to see Burns walk into the Giants’ locker room might be Thibodeaux, selected with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2022 draft.
Thibodeaux took a big step forward in his second season, amassing a team-high 11.5 sacks, usually without a reliable pass rusher on the other side of the line to balance out the pass protection.
The Giants have Azeez Ojulari returning in the final year of his contract and Ojulari has shown a knack for pressuring the opposing quarterback.
He also gets injured at an alarming rate and the coaching staff knew it could not rely on him to be available.
Now Ojulari can play in a rotation and perhaps that will help keep him healthy.
