It is the spring and the routine of voluntary practices without wearing shoulder pads, mixing in new teammates and perhaps a new head coach or defensive coordinator, it is all part of the good vibrations that Brian Burns tunes in, no matter how poorly the previous season was or the upcoming season might be.
“That’s everybody, that’s all 32 teams feeling the same way we’re feeling now,’’ Burns said Monday on a crystal clear and almost chilly afternoon.
“Every other team is excited, everybody is zero and zero, they’re seeing the pieces they have, flying through OTAs.’’
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There was a pause there. Burns feels the same now, but also different.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel this is a little different, I was a little excited, and I expect highly of this team,’’ he said. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say that. But at the end of the day, like I say, you’ve gotta prove it. It’s [not] just about being happy and optimistic. You’ve gotta get on the field and you’ve got to prove it against another team and impose your will on ’em.’’
Burns’ individual exploits have never led to group success. Never. He has lost at least 10 games in all seven of his NFL seasons. He went 24-59 in five years with the Panthers and he is 7-27 in his two years with the Giants. That combined record of 31-86 is a dismal reminder that feeling so positive in the spring is indicative of nothing in the fall and winter.
The air was filled with the scent of winning as the Giants held their first mandatory minicamp practice with head coach John Harbaugh.
Giants linebacker Brian Burns (0) speaks with the media during camp at their facility, Monday, June 8, 2026. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST Of course, talk about the Knicks preparing for their first NBA Finals game at Madison Square Garden since 1999 and the possibility of a first championship since 1973 was a popular topic of conversation. Two former Giants linebackers, franchise legends and NFL Hall of Famers, Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson, watched practice and addressed the 2026 Giants after the 2 ¹/₂-hour session. Carson won one Super Bowl with the Giants and Taylor won two.
Meanwhile, Burns, 28, is trying to get into the playoffs for the first time in his career.
“I think he’s very determined, he wants to do well, he’s all in for everything that we’re doing, he practices really hard,’’ Harbaugh said. “He’s doing everything it takes to win.’’
This is a budding relationship, head coach and star player. Burns amassed 71 sacks in his seven NFL seasons, including a career-high 16.5 in 2025 for a bad Giants defense.
“When you played against Brian he was one of those guys you’d kind of classify as a game-wrecker type player,’’ Harbaugh said. “A game-wrecker is a guy you have to account for every play. He can wreck the game in one play. So you account for him at all times.’’
That assessment of Burns was from the outside, looking in. Harbaugh is now an insider to the inner workings of the player and individual
“What you don’t really know is the kind of person, the kind of worker they are, how smart they are, attention to detail, leadership qualities, those are things you don’t really know,’’ Harbaugh said. “You might hear it but you don’t know until you’re with them. He’s all those things, he’s A-plus in all those areas.’’
Brian Burns (0) reacts on the field during the fourth quarter of the Giants and Dallas Cowboys game in East Rutherford, NJ. Bill Kostroun for the New York Post Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds came into the league in 2018, one year before Burns and quickly came to see the quality of the player. Edmunds is now seeing what Burns the teammate is all about.
“Just seeing him work, how smart he is, how he helps his teammates out around him, that’s something you don’t see unless you’re in the building with him,’’ Edmunds said. “So I take my hat off to him, he’s not a selfish player, probably one of the most unselfish guys I see on the team. If there’s any questions the young guys come to him, he’s helping them out without even wanting anything in return. You got to appreciate guys like that.’’
Burns in his first two years with the Giants was widely respected but now there is an increased leadership role for him to embrace. Dexter Lawrence was traded to the Bengals, making Burns the longest-tenured Giants starter on defense, even though he is entering his third year with the team.
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“If your goals ain’t laughable, they ain’t high enough,’’ Burns said.
Perhaps that would be enough to give Burns his first winning season as an NFL player.
