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Dec 17, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; A detailed view of a New York Giants helmet before the game against the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Former Florida State star helps New York Giants with unselfish move

Originally posted on Florida State Seminoles on SI
By Dustin Lewis | Last updated May 24, 2025 7:00 AM ET

The New York Giants made a couple of big moves during the 2025 NFL Draft last month. After selecting former Penn State star Abdul Carter at No. 3 overall, the franchise traded back into the first round to secure its quarterback of the future at No. 25, former Ole Miss star Jaxson Dart.

Following a dismal 3-14 campaign under head coach Brian Daboll, the Giants are hoping that Carter and Dart will help spark a turnaround starting next fall.

New York brought in former FSU star quarterback Jameis Winston in free agency this offseason but another player who starred for the Seminoles recently made an unselfish gesture to help out the Giants.

Earlier this week, former FSU star Brian Burns restructured his contract with the Giants, converting more than $10 million of his base salary into a signing bonus, per ESPN's Field Yates. This allowed New York to create enough cap space to officially sign Carter to his rookie deal.

In order to get far enough under the cap to complete the signing of Abdul Carter, the Giants restructured the contract of Brian Burns by converting $10M+ of his base salary into a signing bonus.

Burns and Carter will soon tag team to make life difficult on opposing QBs. https://t.co/xo2SQukc0L
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) May 22, 2025

Burns signed a five-year/$141 million deal with New York after being traded by the Carolina Panthers last year. In 2024, he totaled 71 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and eight pass deflections.

Reflecting On Brian Burn's Career At Florida State

Burns signed with Florida State as a five-star prospect in the 2016 class. He made an instant impact, ranking top-25 in the country and leading all freshmen with 9.5 sacks. Burns earned freshman All-American honors.

This wasn't an easy time in program history as Burns played under former head coach Jimbo Fisher and former head coach Willie Taggart. His final season with the Seminoles came in 2018 as Burns recorded a career-high 52 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, ten sacks, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and three pass deflections. He was named first-team All-ACC for his performance.

Overall, Burns saw action in 38 games and made 25 starts, totaling 124 tackles, 39.5 tackles for loss, 24 sacks, seven forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, seven pass deflections, and three blocked kicks. He ranks fifth in FSU history in sacks and eighth in tackles for loss.