Giants trade for DE Burns, give him $150M deal

The New York Giants are acquiring pass-rusher Brian Burns in a trade with the Carolina Panthers and signing him to a $150 million contract, league sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday.

Burns will be guaranteed $87.75 million in his contract, which will make him the second highest-paid defensive end in NFL history.

The Giants are sending a 2024 second- and 2025 fifth-round pick to the Panthers in exchange for Burns, sources said. The teams will also swap fifth-round picks in the 2024 draft, a source told ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.

Burns had received the nonexclusive franchise tag from the Panthers last week.

The Panthers attempted to sign Burns to a long-term deal following the 2022 season when he had a career-high 12.5 sacks and was named to the Pro Bowl for the second straight year.

Talks broke down before the 2023 season, however, with Burns seeking to be paid among the highest edge rushers in the NFL with a deal that would average around $30 million a year, a league source with knowledge of negotiations told ESPN’s David Newton.

Burns’ sack total dropped to eight this past season, but the 16th pick of the 2019 draft out of Florida State said he still wanted to be paid among the top edge rushers, insisting he earned that right the previous season.

Burns, 25, also acknowledged that his sack total was impacted by Carolina, with a league-worst 2-15 record, not holding the lead in the fourth quarter. This also was his first full season as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme after spending most of his NFL career as a defensive end in a 4-3 scheme.

His 46 sacks the last five seasons rank 13th in the NFL during that time span.