Report: Carolina Panthers trading Brian Burns to the New York Giants

One of the most feared pass rushers in the league is on the move, with NFL insider Adam Schefter reporting Monday that the Carolina Panthers will be trading Brian Burns to the New York Giants.

Burns was selected with the No. 16 overall pick in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Florida State by the Panthers, spending the first five seasons of his NFL career with Carolina. Since his time in the league, Burns has recorded 246 tackles, 46 sacks, and eight forced fumbles. Making two Pro Bowl selections in back-to-back seasons following standout seasons in 2021 and 2022.

Burns recorded 7.5 sacks in his rookie season, followed by consecutive 9.0 sacks seasons before posting a career-high 12.5 sacks in 2022 along with a career-high 63 total tackles. He sought out a long term with the Panthers following his breakout season in 2022, but instead Carolina picked up his fifth-year option.

In his most recent, Burns started in all 16 of Carolina’s games for the second consecutive season. Ending the year with 50 tackles, 8.0 sacks, two defended passes, and a forced fumble. As he’ll look to continue building on the impressive foundation of his young career in the Big Apple.

More on the 2024 NFL offseason, free agency

The NFL 2024 calendar year begins at 4 p.m. ET on March 13. At that time, contracts running through 2023 officially run out, making those players free agents. Prior to the beginning of free agency, teams will have a chance to designate one franchise or transition tag player, starting on Feb. 20 at 4 p.m. ET and ending on March 5. Beginning March 11 through March 13 teams can enter into a legal negotiation with players who are set to become unrestricted free agents.

In addition to NFL free agency, the new year also marks the beginning of all trades being made official by the league office. April 19 marks the deadline to sign restricted free agents to offer sheets. On April 24, the deadline for teams to match restricted free agent offers sheets hits. Following the restricted free agent deadline follows the 2024 NFL Draft, which runs from April 25-27.

More on restricted, exclusive rights free agents

Players with only three years of accredited NFL experience become restricted free agents. Their original team will have the option to apply first-round, second-round, original-round, and right-of-fight-of-first-refusal tenders on players at escalating price tags. The higher the round, the more expensive the tender amount; however, if a separate team does offer a contract and the original team does not match that round pick will be conveyed from the new team to the original team. Right of first refusal only gives a team the option to match or not. If they don’t match, they get nothing in return. An original-round tender would send a draft pick from whatever round the player was drafted back to the original team if they chose not to match. The original team will have five days to match once a player signs an offer sheet from a new team.