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Jordan Raanan
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — It was a hot, humid afternoon in July. The kind of summer day with temperatures in the mid-90s early in training camp, when it would be easy to understand that a veteran with Brian Burns’ résumé and paycheck would get his work in and head inside.
New York Giants’ training camp was just a few days old. The start of the season was still two months away. This was the team’s first day in shells (helmets and shoulder pads). The first practice with full pads was still a few days away.
That didn’t stop Burns from flying some 30 yards downfield to try to make a tackle on a long Greg Dulcich reception when all of a sudden, «Slam!» He collided viciously with an off-guard Wan’Dale Robinson, knocking out one of the wide receiver’s teeth. Both Burns and Robinson were shaken up and missed some practice time, but were ultimately OK.
It was a play that caught the attention of Burns’ teammates and set the tone for what would be a career-best season for him.
«His motor. It don’t stop,» defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence III said late in the season. «You saw it early in camp.»
That specific play resonated with Lawrence some five months later. He laughed thinking about how Burns was running back so hard that it sent Robinson’s tooth flying. Fortunately, they found it on the field.
Burns was willing to put in that extra effort as part of a concerted approach that his position coach, Charlie Bullen, saw from the start of spring workouts. It’s not every day that an edge rusher tracks back 30 yards downfield, especially one with little to prove in training camp.
But that was the mindset Burns had from the jump. And it didn’t seem to surprise anyone there that July day that he would finish second in the NFL with 16.5 sacks and will be a part of this year’s Pro Bowl games in San Francisco, his third Pro Bowl appearance.
«A result of a commitment to his process,» said Bullen, who took over as the defensive coordinator late in the season after the Giants fired Shane Bowen. «We’ve talked about that. It’s been remarkable to see just how much or how he approached his process this year and how intentional he was, and so he’s gotten some payoff from that.
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«Every great pass rusher has a freebie or two every year in the sack department, so he’s had some fortuitous moments in that regard. But again, it’s reward for the work that he’s put in, so that’s how I see that.»
The same effort he showed in training camp was evident throughout the season. Burns finished fourth in the NFL with 31 QB hits, tied for 10th with 45 pressures and had a career-best five batted passes.
Perhaps the biggest difference in his approach was shown in finishing third in the league with 22 tackles for a loss. Only Cleveland’s Myles Garrett (33) and Las Vegas’ Maxx Crosby (28) had more. It’s a far cry from his early years with the Carolina Panthers (2019-2024) when Burns, a first-round pick out of Florida State, was often in single digits.
«I’ve been trying to maintain and stay consistent with my process [this season] and the results showed,» Burns said. «Being able to play within the scheme and still get the results that I wanted, that I needed, just showed the preparation that I put in throughout the week.
«Just being able to allow the calls to work for me instead of trying to step outside the box, outside the schemes to make a play, I just let the calls work for me and it happened.»
This is what the Giants were hoping for when they traded second- and fifth-round picks and then signed Burns to a five-year, $150 million contract in March 2024. They thought Burns could be one of the league’s best and most complete edge rushers.
It has turned into perhaps one of the best moves of Joe Schoen’s tenure. The Giants’ general manager is responsible for bringing in Burns and Abdul Carter over the past two years to build an imposing pass rush. Carter (56) and Burns (44) were both top-10 in pressures despite New York trailing often, winning just four games this season.
Ultimately, taking down the quarterback is the edge rushers’ job. Burns’ career best heading into this season was 12.5 sacks in 2022. This season was the only other time in his career that he reached double-digits with 16.5.
Burns reached double figures before the midway point of this past season.
«That’s a great milestone,» interim head coach Mike Kafka said late in the year about Burns’ career best.
But it was more than that.
«I love that for him to go out there and have great production,» Kafka added. «But he’s affecting the game in other ways too outside of sack production — pressures, in the run game, things that don’t necessarily show in the stat sheet, his leadership in the room in bringing veterans around and young guys as well.»
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It’s clear what Burns means to the team. He was voted a team captain and has grown into the player everyone in the locker room seems to approach for advice. Burns was even voted the winner of the George Young-Ernie Accorsi Media Good Guy Award presented by the New York Giants Chapter of the Professional Football Writers of America for his professionalism and availability during the 2025 season.
It all started early in the year and became evident during training camp that this type of season was imminent.
«Him flying around, hawking down Wan’Dale in camp, knocking out his tooth,» Lawrence recalled of Burns’ strong start. «He showed it early and it’s good to see it translate.»
