When Brian Burns was traded to the Giants – and subsequently signed a huge extension with – in March, he surely thought his new team would post more Ws than his old one.
The Carolina Panthers were coming off a 2-15 season and didn’t even own their 2024 first-round pick (which ended up being quarterback Caleb Williams).
Fast forward eight months and, well, things aren’t exactly looking up for Burns and Co.
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The Giants are 2-7, which is bad enough for the seventh overall pick and, of course, last in the NFC East. They have the 11th-best defense in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus — with the sixth-best passing grade (76.4), thanks in large part to Burns, who has 5.0 sacks and 32 pressures in nine games — but their attack is a stagnant mess.
To add insult to Burns: the Panthers, who the Giants will face in Germany this Sunday, have an identical record. When asked if he thought things would be different with the Giants, Burns tried to keep a positive attitude.
“When you find yourself in a new situation, you always want to look at the positive side of things,” the outside linebacker said. “But football is football, and that’s the way it goes, sometimes that’s the way the cards bend. But overall, it’s still a blessed opportunity and a blessed position to be in find.
But does he at least believe the Giants’ management is handling the rebuild better than the Panthers, who didn’t make the playoffs (or win more than seven games) in his five seasons there?
“Everything is different,” Burns said. “It’s difficult to compare the two, simply because of the different variables in each situation. »
While it remains to be seen whether the Giants can (finally) figure out their offensive woes moving forward, one thing is certain: Their pass rush, led by Burns and Dexter Lawrence, will be in good shape for the next five years. . less.
Burns ranks fourth in solo tackles (25), 17th in sacks, 13th in quarterback hurries (22) and first in batted passes (4). That’s not a bad return on the two drafts, a $141 million investment so far.
So, will we see another level for Burns when he faces his former team on Sunday – in what is essentially a “Tank Bowl” between two terrible clubs? The 26-year-old swears he’s treating this match like any other.
“No, like I said, business is business,” Burns said. “Deals happened. I am happy where I am. I am blessed.
“I’m not going to make it bigger than the line and it’s all going to be about that. It’s just another game for me. I will prepare the same way and plan to achieve a victory in Germany.
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Ryan Novozinsky can be contacted at [email protected]. You can follow him on @ryannovo62.
