Brian Burns (AP Photo/Erik Verduzco, File)
Brian Burns was still trying to sift through the range of emotions that were crashing over him after being traded from the Carolina Panthers to the New York Giants earlier this week. Still, one of the most prevalent feelings that rose to the forefront was giddiness.
“The moment is still a little surreal… Right now, I’m kind of all over the place,” he began. “I’m just a little giddy.”
The 25-year-old is making his way from one of the worst teams in football to one that is attempting to build its way out of a decade-long hole behind general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll.
A vast re-tooling is well underway after a 6-11 season — the 10th time in the last 12 years that they’ve missed the playoffs — featured by the departures of Saquon Barkley and Xavier McKinney. But on the very same day New York lost its franchise running back and its best safety, they brought in a pair of offensive linemen to address one of the worst protection units in NFL history and Burns.
The deal and subsequent five-year, $150 million deal creates an even more imposing defensive front that features one of the best defensive tackles in the game in Dexter Lawrence and the still-developing Kayvon Thibodeaux, who posted 11.5 sacks in his sophomore season last year.
“New York has a ton of young pieces,” Burns said. “Looking down the line, I’ve got Dexter… Thibodeaux… but they’ve got dogs on the inside, they’ve got a dog behind them in [linebacker Bobby Okereke]. So, there’s a lot of talent on this team.”
Burns has been one of the top pass rushers in football since he was drafted by Carolina in 2019 with the 16th overall pick — just one pick before the Giants took Lawrence. Burns’ 46 sacks over the last five years rank 13th in the NFL during that span.
“They’re getting somebody that’s coming to work, always be professional, always be a pro, that’s…
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