Brian

Burns

Burns had a tumultuous week of practice and was downgraded to a ‘DNP’ Friday but will ultimately play against the Steelers for a Giants defense near the league-lead in pressure rate and sacks. Burns went into Week 7 listed as questionable but also suited up in that game.

Burns has been dealing with the groin injury for a while but the Achilles issue is both new and concerning. The 2-5 Giants have no reason to put Burns at risk by asking him to play through an Achilles injury in what effectively amounts to a lost season already.

Burns has been dealing with the groin issue for a few weeks but has been good to go by Sunday every time. He told reports earlier this week that he expects to play through the issue once again. Barring any setbacks, the Giants should have their top EDGE defender versus Jalen Hurts.

Head coach Brian Daboll called Burns “day to day.” Burns has three sacks and five TFLs in his first six games as a Giant. He has been dealing with the groin issue for a few weeks and has yet to miss any time, so we’ll assume even a DNP is just maintenance for now.

Burns popped up on the injury report Friday with a groin injury, but still got in a limited practice. He’s good to go against Deshaun Watson and the Browns in Week 3.

Burns was a surprise addition to the Giants’ injury report on Friday. He was limited for the first time all week before being assigned the questionable tag. Despite the brief scare, he appears to be good to go for Week 3. Burns is still looking for his first sack as a Giant. New York traded a second-round pick for the former Panther and then inked him to a five-year extension. Deshaun Watson has taken eight sacks through two games, so if Burns wants to get on the board, now is the time.

Typically, Limited Participant designations on Friday’s injury report are not cause for concern but a late-week addition to the injury report is a different story. Burns appears truly questionable for the Giants’ Week 3 game against the Browns. The Giants already field a thin pass defense and cannot afford to lose their best edge rusher.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports the deal includes a five-year extension for Burns worth a “maximum” of $150 million with $87.5 million guaranteed. Per RapSheet, it makes the 26-year-old (in April) the second highest paid edge rusher in the league. That trade return, of course, is far less than what the Panthers reportedly turned down from the Rams in 2022. One of the league’s premier pass rushers, Burns notched “just” nine sacks for last year’s terri-bad Panthers, but he has never recorded fewer than eight quarterback takedowns in five NFL seasons. It’s a jolting addition for what was a lackadaisical Giants pass rush in 2023. The G-Men are still a long way from good, but they just got a whole lot better for 2024 without surrendering a first-round pick.

Burns has totaled 46 sacks in five seasons with the Panthers and notched 12.5 sacks in 2022. Currently under the franchise tag, the Panthers and Burns have been unable to come to an agreement on a new contract, in a negotation that dates back to last offseason. Burns, 25, would provide an immediate upgrade to a Giants defense that managed just 34 sacks as a team in 2023.

Burns would make $24 million in 2024 if he were to play under the tag. Burns and the Panthers will have until July to hammer out a long-term deal after recent reports that negotiations had been put on hold. Pro Football Focus graded Burns, 25, as the league’s 27th best EDGE rusher in 2023. He has 46 sacks over his 80 regular season games with Carolina since being drafted in the first round in 2019.