Giants edge rusher who finished second in the NFL with 16 sacks in 2025.
Brian Burns was the 16th pick by Carolina in 2019. The Giants acquired him in March 2024 for two future picks and signed him to a five-year, $141 million extension. The 2025 season delivered the production New York paid for: 16 sacks, second only to Myles Garrett's NFL-record 23.
Path to the league
Florida State product taken 16th overall by the Panthers in 2019. Made the Pro Bowl in his fourth season. Carolina traded him to the Giants in March 2024 in a deal that included a 2024 second-round pick and a 2025 fifth.
Career highlights
2025 Second-team All-Pro. 3x Pro Bowl. 16 sacks in 2025, second in the NFL. 60+ career sacks across seven seasons. $141 million extension upon trade to New York.
2025 season recap
16 sacks, 58 tackles, 25 QB hits, 4 forced fumbles. Giants went 5-12 in another rebuilding year. Burns' production was the entire defensive bright spot. The team's edge tandem with Kayvon Thibodeaux finally clicked.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Brian Burns
- Pro Football Reference: Brian Burns
Statistics
2025 season and career2025 Season · Defense
17 games played▶Defense · career
| Year | Team | GP | TOT | SOLO | SACK | INT | FF | FR | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | giants | 17 | 67 | 39 | 16.5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| 2024 | giants | 17 | 71 | 42 | 8.5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| 2023 | panthers | 16 | 50 | 32 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2022 | panthers | 16 | 63 | 34 | 12.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 2021 | panthers | 17 | 50 | 31 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 2020 | panthers | 15 | 58 | 35 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 2019 | panthers | 16 | 25 | 19 | 7.5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Linebacker
- Group
- defense
- College
- Florida State
- Hometown
- Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA
- Age
- 28
- Status
- active
Latest news about Brian Burns
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Carter, the centerpiece of the Giants' defensive rebuild, left practice and did not return. Early indications point to something minor, but any injury to a cornerstone rookie draws a held breath.
Four players who could move before the season: Coleman, Kmet, Richardson, Thibodeaux
A receiver on a rebuilding Bills team, a tight end the Bears drafted a replacement for, a quarterback who requested a trade, and an edge rusher stuck behind two starters. What it would take to move each one.
Giants extend GM Joe Schoen, tying the front office to John Harbaugh's rebuild
Four months after firing Brian Daboll and hiring Harbaugh, ownership locks in continuity at the GM position through 2029.
Giants DT Roy Robertson-Harris tears Achilles in OTAs, expected to miss the 2026 season
The second New York defensive lineman to suffer a season-ending injury this offseason. The Giants are now shorthanded up front as John Harbaugh installs his new scheme.
