BREAKING: Former FSU Football Star Brian Burns Traded to the New York Giants
After a long negotiation period with the Carolina Panthers, former Florida State star pass rusher Brian Burns has been traded to the New York Giants, where he'll sign a 5-year, $150 million extension ($87.5 million guaranteed), for draft compensation including a 2nd-round and 5th-round pick. The Panthers had originally placed Burns on the franchise tag.
Burns will join a defensive line with Dexter Lawrence and former top-5 pick Kayvon Thibodeaux as the Giants look to rebound from a 6-11 season and just a year removed from making the playoffs. It was big for the Giants to keep their 6th overall selection and they get to do so.
The Panthers did themselves no favors with this negotiation. In 2022, the Los Angeles Rams reportedly offered two first-round picks in 2024 and 2025 plus a second-round pick in 2023 to acquire Burns, but Carolina declined, believing the star to be a cornerstone to the franchise. After a few head coaching and front office changes, Burns had all of the leverage in negotiations, leading to him being franchise-tagged and traded for pennies on the dollar of what they could've received.
The former first-round pick signed with Florida State out of American Heritage in Fort Lauderdale as a 5-star in the 2016 recruiting class. In three seasons and 33 games played in Tallahassee, Burns recorded a total of 23 sacks, 38.5 tackles for loss, 7 forced fumbles, and 7 pass deflections. Given his production and length on the edge, the Panthers selected him 16th overall in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, where he had spent his entire 5-year career up to this point.
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