Anthony Rivardo
Brian Burns is coming off the best season of his career, and the Giants just made his job even harder. Burns posted a career-high 16.5 sacks in 2025, earned second-team All-Pro honors, and then watched the front office ship Dexter Lawrence to Cincinnati in April for the No. 10 overall pick.
That trade removed the interior force who bent protections for years. The burden of being the top dog rushing the passer now falls on Burns, and his contract gets more expensive at the same moment the help around him thins out.
The Career Year That Reset Brian Burns’ Value
Burns turned in the most complete season of his seven-year career in 2025, finishing with 16.5 sacks, 67 total tackles, three forced fumbles, and seven passes defensed while drawing just one penalty across 17 games. He earned a 75.8 overall PFF grade, finishing the year with 53 pressures and 14 QB hits. His performance earned him second-team All-Pro recognition and a third career Pro Bowl.
He got there after a quieter debut in New York, when he logged 8.5 sacks but stuffed the run at a career rate, posting 42 stops and 61 pressures that made him PFF’s most improved Giant in 2024.
The jump from disruptor to finisher shows up cleanly across his two Giants seasons.
| Season | Sacks | Total Tackles | Passes Defensed | Forced Fumbles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 8.5 | 71 | 8 | 2 |
| 2025 | 16.5 | 67 | 7 | 3 |
The 16.5 sacks were a big step up from his 2022 career high of 12.5 in Carolina, where he banked 46 sacks over five seasons before the 2024 trade that cost New York two second-round picks and a swap. For an edge rusher acquired at that price, a 16.5-sack season is the return the Giants underwrote.
What Losing Dexter Lawrence Actually Costs Him
Lawrence requested a trade on April 6 and was gone by April 19, dealt to the Bengals for the No. 10 overall pick after contract talks stalled. For two seasons, Lawrence commanded the double teams that let Burns work one-on-one on the edge, and his interior push collapsed pockets from the inside out. Even though Lawrence regressed in 2025, posting 0.5 sacks, he was still double-teamed at the highest rate of any pass rusher in the league last season. Removing an interior rusher who drew that much attention changes the geometry of every third down.
Opposing coordinators can now build their protection plans around a single name. Chip blocks from backs and tight ends, slide protections tilted to his side, and the occasional double team are all coming, because Burns is the one Giant with a proven sack count defenses must account for first. He racked up his 16.5 sacks with Lawrence eating blockers next to him; the 2026 total arrives without that cover.
The Cap Math Is Climbing
Burns signed a five-year, $141 million deal at the time of the trade, a contract averaging $28.2 million per year with $76 million guaranteed and a $25 million signing bonus. The Giants restructured it this offseason, converting salary to bonus to open roughly $15.1 million in space and setting his 2026 cap charge at $21.383 million.
His deal carries a sack escalator that already triggered, lifting his 2026 base salary by $1.8 million to $24.1 million, and he can earn up to another $1.8 million in incentives by pairing 12.5 sacks with First-Team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors. That $21.383 million cap charge is the floor, not the ceiling. New York is paying premium edge-rusher money and just traded away the teammate who made that money look cheap.
The Rush Around Him Is Young
The Giants are not asking Burns to do it alone, but the supporting cast is unproven. Second-year edge Abdul Carter is the internal bet to break out, and his rookie flashes point to a bigger 2026. Kayvon Thibodeaux is playing on his fifth-year option in a contract year with no extension in sight, and rookie Arvell Reese was drafted to steady the middle of the front seven. That group has upside, but none of it has produced at Burns’s level, which is why defenses will start their week by locating No. 0.
Burns has spent two years proving he was worth the picks and the money. The 2026 version has to prove he can carry a pass rush that no longer has Dexter Lawrence to lean on. That is the job now, and the Giants are paying him like a player who can do it.
More about:New York Giants
