Giants fans endured a rough start to free agency when Saquon Barkley bolted for NFC East rival Philadelphia and New York missed out on high-end offensive line targets. Then came a splash.
The Giants swung a blockbuster deal for Panthers defensive end Brian Burns on Monday, landing the two-time Pro-Bowler for two draft picks and signing him to a massive five-year extension worth $141 million, with $76 fully guaranteed at signing.
The Panthers had dangled Burns in trade talks before but held out hope they could sign him long-term. Those hopes appeared to fade when their new regime of GM Dan Morgan and coach Dave Canales took over in January, and Carolina now has an even larger hole to dig out of after a 2-15 season.
How did each team do? Here are complete grades for both sides of the Burns blockbuster.
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Brian Burns trade grades
Giants grade: B-
- Giants receive: EDGE Brian Burns
From a pure compensation standpoint, this was a successful deal for GM Joe Schoen. Landing Burns without surrendering a first-round pick is a win, even if the second-rounder included in the deal is near the top of the round. This deal required a massive extension for Burns, though.
While the full terms of the contract aren't yet known, it's been reported that Burns is guaranteed $87.5 million in the deal and can make as much as $150 million. That's the second-highest guarantee ever given to a pass-rusher, coming in a hair behind Nick Bosa's $88 million. (Update: Burns is guaranteed $76 million at signing on the five-year, $141 million deal.)
Burns is a great young player, but does he have the production to justify that kind of guarantee? His production dipped in 2023, with eight sacks and 18 quarterback hits. Burns finished the year tied for 62nd in total pressures, well behind new teammate Kayvon Thibodeaux.
While playing alongside a much more intimidating pass-rusher should free up Burns and lead to better production, that's a steep price to pay for a player who doesn't rank among the very best at his position.
Still, the Giants got better with the deal. They let Barkley and Xavier McKinney walk and allocated their resources to a more impactful position, which is an admirable strategy. Significantly improving the defense while still retaining the franchise's first-round pick isn't something worth glossing over.
Giants fans will still walk away from day one of free agency feeling as though something is missing. New York added two starters along the offensive line, albeit middle-tier free agents, but could some of this money have been set aside to improve the offense? The Giants' running game might not be the same going from Barkley to Devin Singletary, and there are real questions about the subpar cast of receiving weapons surrounding Daniel Jones or whichever quarterback is under center this season.
The Giants have already tried to compete with a powerful defense and underwhelming offense. Even in a best-case scenario, it only goes so far. Burns makes the Giants better, but the case can be made that it might not have been the best use of the team's resources.
MORE: Tiki Barber blasts Saquon Barkley for signing with Eagles
Panthers grade: C-
- Panthers receive: Second-round pick, fifth-round pick
The Panthers at least deserve credit for recognizing that they need to put their resources into their bottom-tier offense before they fully address the defense. The window to build the defense around Burns likely ended as soon as the 26-year-old EDGE demanded one of the richest deals of any pass-rusher. There are simply too many holes elsewhere on the roster to justify handing out that kind of deal.
Carolina needs assets after trading this year's first-round pick in last year's draft deal with the Bears, and this trade brings in two additional selections that can help Morgan build around Bryce Young.
This trade is a reminder that the previous regime failed, however. The story of how the Panthers declined an offer from the Rams that would have sent two first-round picks back to Carolina in exchange for Burns is infamous at this point, and the reality is the franchise should have traded Burns when his value was higher.
A second-rounder and a fifth-rounder are nowhere near what the Panthers would have gotten even a year ago, when Burns was coming off a career season, was a year younger, and still had a year left on his contract. Instead, Burns was traded when his value dipped and the acquiring team had to account for the massive contract he needed immediately.
Why hold the current regime accountable for past mistakes? It's not clear that the personnel is totally different. David Tepper's reluctance to rebuild was undoubtedly a major reason the Panthers didn't trade Burns, and he's very much still involved in the decision-making in Carolina. Morgan was also part of Carolina's front office at the time, for what it's worth.
The decision to trade Burns now was the correct one. The Panthers need all the assets they can get, and a standout pass-rusher making as much as $30 million per year wouldn't move the needle. Carolina just effectively got for Burns what it traded for Sam Darnold three years ago, however. To trade such a major piece and only come away with what they did is an organizational failure, even if the current regime isn't entirely to blame.
