GIANTS TRADE FOR PANTHERS PASS RUSHER BRIAN BURNS, INK HIM TO SIGNIFICANT FIVE-YEAR EXTENSION
The New York Giants acquired standout pass rusher Brian Burns via a trade with the Carolina Panthers on Monday and offered him a massive five-year extension, as first reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo.
Only 16 months after the Panthers declined two first round picks and a second round pick from the Los Angeles Rams for Brian Burns, the split between both player and organization finally happened on Monday. Carolina previously declined a huge haul of draft capital for Burns from the Rams just before the 2022 trade deadline, claiming Burns was an untradeable franchise player and now rue the mistake of not taking the picks less than a year and a half later.
New York not only sent a second-round pick this year and a fifth-rounder in the 2025 NFL draft to Carolina for Burns but also signed him to a significant extension, a win-win for the 2019 first round pick. The Giants traded away OLB Leonard Williams to the Seattle Seahawks for a second and a fifth round pick on October 30th, just before last year’s trade deadline and acquired Burns for basically the same compensation.
Burns, 25, was placed on the franchise tag last week and as anticipated, the move was always a ‘tag and trade’ move by the Carolina Panthers. As per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, his new deal is a five-year, $150 million megadeal, with an impressive $76 million fully guaranteed at signing. The total guarantees could get up to $87.5 million. Burns’ deal was negotiated by Todd France of Athletes First.
The two-time Pro Bowler’s $30 million annual average salary places him between Rams’ DT Aaron Donald ($31.67 million) and TJ Watt ($28 million), making him the fourth-highest paid defensive player in the NFL. Only Donald, Chiefs’ DT Chris Jones ($32 million) and 49ers DE Nick Bosa ($34 million) earn more on an annual basis. Burns cash flow through the first four years is structured so that the 6-foot-5 pass rusher is set to earn $43.5 million in 2024, and $90 million over the final three years.
Burns and the Panthers had been trying to come to terms on a new contract for over a year, and with no resolution in sight, the fifth-year man gets paid somewhere else. The move means the Panthers have now traded all three of their first-round selections between the years 2017 and 2019, having moved on from RB Christian McCaffrey, WR DJ Moore, and now DE Brian Burns in the past 18 months. All three players were either 26 years old or younger at the time of the trade.
Carolina doesn’t have a first-round pick this year, having traded it to select former Alabama quarterback Bryce Young in the draft last year and are desperate for draft capital. The two picks will add to the limited arrows in GM Dan Morgan and HC Dave Canales’ quiver as the Panthers look at a long rebuild under a new front office and coaching regime.
With a new team and a fresh opportunity, Burns will get to team up with highly promising young pass rushers Kayvon Thibodeaux and All-Pro DT Dexter Lawrence. The Giants have a new defensive coordinator, Shane Bowen in 2024, who will have a few talented pieces on his unit to work with including linebacker Bobby Okereke and cornerback Deonte Banks. New York is looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2023 season in which the team managed only six wins all year.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.