Giants Now: Brian Burns ‘makes you have to be perfect’

Giants teammates rave to the New York Post about Brian Burns

While the Giants made additions up and down their roster this offseason, general manager Joe Schoen’s biggest splash came in the form of the trade for outside linebacker Brian Burns.

It’s been just over five months since the trade with the Carolina Panthers was completed. In that time, the 26-year-old pass rusher has quickly won over his teammates, both on and off the field.

The New York Post’s Steve Serby recently chatted with Giants players on both sides of the ball about the impact Burns has already made. Offensive tackle Jermaine Eluemunor likened Burns’ influence to that of his former teammate with the Las Vegas Raiders, three-time Pro Bowl defensive end Maxx Crosby.

“I say the same impact Maxx is making in Vegas right now just from a mentality standpoint and bring guys along with him, Burns can do the same thing here, which he is doing,” said Eluemunor, who has had to match up against Burns on a daily basis at practice, in an interview with The Post.

Eluemunor added, “He’s really frikkin’ fast around the edge, and he can bend the corner really well. For a tackle, especially a tackle like me, it makes me really have to hone in on him and make sure that every single rep I take and every single set is perfect. He makes you have to be perfect, like there’s no room for error when you’re going against him.”

Burns has been a fixture in the backfield throughout the first few weeks of training camp, something he has done often to start his NFL career.

Prior to the Panthers placing the franchise tag on him, Burns was set to be one of the top free agents on the market this offseason. He registered eight sacks, 16 tackles for loss, 18 quarterback hits, one forced fumble and two passes defensed across 16 games last season.

Burns’ 46 career sacks are tied for 12th in the NFL since he entered the league in 2019, while his 59 tackles for loss are tied for sixth-most in that span. He also has eight forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries to go with his 95 quarterback hits.

Burns has never recorded fewer than 7.5 sacks and 16 quarterback hits in a season, which he did as a rookie. He posted career-highs in sacks (12.5) and quarterback hits (22) in 2022, when he earned his second consecutive Pro Bowl nod.

He is one of only eight players in NFL history to record at least 7.5 sacks in each of their first five seasons.

Click here to read Steve Serby’s full article, which includes additional quotes from Giants players on Brian Burns