Brian Burns didn’t think he was getting traded from one rebuilding team to another.
When the Panthers and Giants executed a blockbuster deal in March, Burns was hopeful that coming to New York meant more than just a five-year, $141 million extension.
Maybe he was finally moving out of the phase of his career where he puts up big numbers but the team loses anyway.
Instead, Burns’ old team and his new team both have 2-7 records entering their clash Sunday in Germany.
“Going into a new situation, you always want to look on the positive side of things,” Burns said after Wednesday’s practice. “But football is football, and this is how it goes. Sometimes, it’s how the cards fold. Overall, it’s still a blessed position I’m in.”
Burns expected to spend his whole career with the Panthers, especially after they rejected a trade offer of two first-round picks from the Rams in 2022.
He was mistaken, but he isn’t going to make this game about proving the Panthers wrong for never finalizing an extension or trash-talking the friends he has kept in Carolina.
“It’s not a revenge game. It’s just another game,” Burns said. “Personally, I have my own thoughts about it. But I’m not going to make it any bigger than [that] line and everything’s going to be about it. I’m going to prepare the same way and plan to get a win in Germany.”
Burns staged a short-lived holdout before playing on the fifth-year option in 2023.
A general manager change happened after the season, he was franchise-tagged to keep him off free agency, and the Giants came trying to remake their identity by redirecting dollars from running back Saquon Barkley and safety Xavier McKinney to the pass rush.
“I wouldn’t say a surprise,” Burns said. “You could kind of feel the direction it was going in.”
Giants general manager Joe Schoen and his Panthers counterpart, Dan Morgan, are longtime friends and former colleagues whose families vacation together.
So, a second-round pick, a fifth-round pick and an additional fifth-round pick swap, plus the second-largest contract signed by any NFL edge rusher, got the trade done.
“Business happened,” Burns said. “I’m happy where I am now, and I’m just trying to make this team win.”
It’s code that’s been difficult for Burns and the Giants to crack both separately and together.
Burns has 51 sacks since his rookie year in 2019 — 11th-most in the NFL — but a 25-64 record.
The Giants are 39-84-1 since 2017 but went to the playoffs in 2022.
“It’s hard to compare the two, just because of the different variables in each situation,” Burns said.
“I took on a different role coming here. Coming from a place you were drafted, you work to become that leader of that defense. To coming into a situation that has other leaders already established. It’s a different avenue you have to take to prove yourself. I feel like I did that, and I was able to adapt.”
Burns has proved himself valuable.
He ranks No. 8 in ESPN’s pass rush win rate despite playing through groin and Achilles injuries that leave him limping around the locker room after games.
The Giants lead the NFL with 35 sacks, as Burns’ presence on the outside coincides with the best year of defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence’s Pro Bowl career.
“He’s been a great addition for us as a talented playmaker and a leader,” defensive co-captain Bobby Okereke said. “He does things the right way — plays with effort, intensity and great technique and fundamentals, which is a great example for the young guys. For teams playing us, it’s giving them a hard time from a matchup standpoint.”
The Panthers used the main pick acquired for Burns to trade down and then used that return package to trade up, ultimately settling on the first running back off the board.
Jonathon Brooks has yet to make his season debut, however.
The Giants — who initially tried to include the No. 47 pick for Burns but instead had to relinquish No. 39 — ultimately missed out on second-round cornerback targets Kool-Aid McKinstry (No. 41 to Saints) and Kamari Lassiter (No. 42 to Texans) for the cost of landing Burns.
But head coach Brian Daboll doesn’t feel any differently now than he did when Schoen first mentioned in February that the Giants might be able to acquire Burns.
“I said, ‘Great,’ ” Daboll said. “I was excited we got him. I appreciate his effort and how he is as a player and also how he is as a person.”
