The New York Giants aren't trading edge rusher Brian Burns anytime soon.
The offseason is the time to have some fun. Between bold predictions, out-of-the-box ideas, and the upside of the unknown, there’s room to get a little loose with one’s analysis.
That lends itself to late-offseason trade proposals, which are rarely particularly likely to come to fruition, but serve as a way to identify problems and potential solutions before the games begin.
However, it helps to be tethered to reality, and sometimes we, as a football-watching collective, can stray too far from that mark. For example, New York Giants edge rusher Brian Burns was featured in a mock trade from Clutch Points, sending the star to the Cincinnati Bengals without properly considering whether it makes sense for both sides.
“New York’s selection of Abdul Carter with the No. 3 overall pick changes everything,” Enzo Flojo wrote. “Carter is a blue-chip pass rusher who will start immediately. The Giants also plan to keep Kayvon Thibodeaux on the fifth-year option. That makes Burns the third wheel in a two-man pass rush rotation. And that’s too much money and too much talent to be used sparingly.”
Paramount to this discussion is Thibodeaux’s role in the defense compared to Burns. The latter is simply not the third wheel of the unit. He’s an established star with an $141 million extension from the current administration and no signs of slowing down.
In 2024, he logged 8.5 sacks in a season where he was very clearly playing hurt for most of the year. His presence in the locker room shouldn’t be understated, as that durability didn’t have to show up amidst a 10-game losing streak and 3-14 season. But it did, and Burns’ peripherals suggest he’s in line for another promising year in 2025.
If anyone among the edge rushers is a trade target, it’s Thibodeaux, who stands to see his playing time decrease after the addition of Carter. New York accepted his fifth-year option, an unofficial guarantee that he’ll be rostered at the very least until the trade deadline. Thibodeaux and Carter are expected to split time opposite Burns, with the star being spelled when necessary.
“Burns is the type of talent who changes offensive game plans and forces coordinators to slide protection his way,” Flojo wrote. “That kind of impact radiates across a defense.”
Flojo is correct – Burns is a star-level talent who can headline a defensive line. That’s exactly why New York isn’t trading him, even if his contract made it plausible, which it doesn’t.
The Giants are stockpiling defensive talent to try and become competitive. There isn’t a world in which they negate an offseason’s worth of progress for the sake of making another team a Super Bowl contender.
