exclusive New York Giants Brian Burns can’t imagine Giants without Dexter Lawrence as contract drama grows: ‘Guys look up to him’ By Ryan Dunleavy Published April 15, 2026, 7:45 p.m. ET The Giants' Brian Burns Corey Sipkin for the NY POST There is no official stat for how many of Brian Burns’ career-high 16.5 sacks were made easier by Dexter Lawrence commanding double teams nearby, but Burns isn’t really interested in figuring out how much harder his job will be if the Giants trade Lawrence.
“Speaking for me, the Giants ain’t the Giants without No. 97 in the middle,” Burns told The Post. “So we are going to figure that out to keep him here regardless, I hope. That’s my boy. And I don’t want to play this season or any other season without him.”
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The Burns-Lawrence friendship started two years ago at a charity softball game hosted by Lawrence and Giants superfan Joe Ruback (License Plate Guy).
Burns was scheduled to take over this year’s edition of that game (2 p.m. May 30 at Clover Stadium in Pomona) even before Lawrence requested a trade from the Giants, who have not met his demand for a new contract. The feud now has escalated into “broken-down” negotiations as Lawrence stays away from voluntary offseason workouts.
