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Panthers To Send OLB Brian Burns To Giants

March 12th, 2024 at 12:10am CST by Sam Robinson

At last, a resolution is coming in the Brian Burns saga. Two years after Burns became extension-eligible, he is being traded. The Giants will be the team to pay the franchise-tagged player now.

The Giants are sending the Panthers second- and fifth-round picks for Burns, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. This deal will also come with an extension. New York will give Burns his long-sought-after extension, signing off on a five-year deal worth up to $150MM. The contract includes $87.5MM in guarantees. The Giants held an extra second-round pick from the 2023 Leonard Williams trade; that will come in handy as the team replenishes its pass rush.

Carolina-New York conversations on Burns had taken place for a stretch, and with the Panthers pausing extension talks for the 2019 first-round pick, that will lead to a scenery change. The Panthers kept Ejiro Evero in place as DC, and GM Dan Morgan was in the front office during Burns’ negotiations last year and when the Rams made a monster trade offer — one that far surpasses this actual haul — in 2022. But the Panthers were unable to complete a deal. They will now take what they can get and move on.

This moves comes nearly 18 months after the Rams proposed two first-round picks and a third for Burns at the 2022 trade deadline. In the aftermath of the Matt Rhule firing, the Panthers balked and prepared extension talks with Burns in 2023. Those conversations did not produce an agreement, and it did not sound like anything was close last year. The sides broke off talks before the season, and although more trade offers — not on the level of the Rams proposal — came out, the then-Scott Fitterer-run Panthers stood pat.

Burns has not been a top-tier edge rusher, having recorded one 10-plus-sack season (12.5 in 2022) in his five-year career. But the Giants will bet on the Florida State alum’s consistency. Burns has tallied at least 7.5 sacks in each of his NFL slates. He totaled eight last year. The former Ron Rivera-era Panthers draftee has tallied between 18 and 22 QB hits over the past four seasons. Burns’ 46 career sacks rank 12th in the NFL since 2019.

The Giants took a bit to reinvest in their edge positions following the Jason Pierre-Paul and Olivier Vernon trades, but they took Azeez Ojulari in the 2021 second round. That was a Dave Gettleman-era move, and Ojulari did not play well in 2023. Ojulari only totaled 2.5 sacks in 11 games, undercutting Thibodeaux’s breakout to a degree. The Giants will pay up for Burns to go with Thibodeaux’s rookie deal, which can run through 2026 via the fifth-year option. While Burns’ AAV is not yet known, anything north of $28MM (T.J. Watt‘s deal) would bump him into second place behind only Nick Bosa among edges.

This wraps a long-running partnership for the Panthers, who had struggled to complement Burns on the edge. Yetur Gross-Matos and Justin Houston were unable to adequately do so, with hybrid performer Frankie Luvu — who is signing with the Commanders — being Carolina’s other top LB pass rusher. Gross-Matos and Marquis Haynes are free agents now. The Panthers will be in dire need at this premium position, and Monday saw a few of this year’s top edge players choose destinations already. The draft stands to be an avenue for the rebuilding team.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/11/24

March 11th, 2024 at 10:51pm CST by Ely Allen

On the busiest transaction day of the NFL year, here are a few moves that maybe didn’t make the headlines:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Woerner is probably one of the bigger names on this list. After serving as a reliable run-blocking tight end with the 49ers for the duration of his rookie contract, Woerner earns a new three-year deal worth up to $12MM to head to Atlanta, according to ESPN’s Michael Rothstein.

Brandel may be the next biggest deal on this list. After making five starts in 39 game appearances with the Vikings during his rookie deal, Brandel earned a new three-year, $9.5MM contract to remain in Minnesota. Quessenberry joins him as a depth lineman sticking around.

Lewis also gets to stick around on a multi-year deal, signing a two-year, $4MM deal to remain in Buffalo. A valuable special teamer, Lewis has done a good job of getting himself worked into the rotation on defense a good amount over the course of his rookie deal.

Olszewski earns another year in New York after solving a big issue on punt returns for the Giants last year. Baun heads to Philadelphia as a strong backup after starting 14 games for the Saints during his first four years in the league.

Giants To Sign OL Jermaine Eluemunor

March 11th, 2024 at 5:31pm CST by Ben Levine

The Giants’ investment in Evan Neal has yet to pay off. While the team is not bailing on the former top-10 pick just yet, the third-year blocker may be set for an offseason position battle.

Jermaine Eluemunor is set to sign with the Giants, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. Working as a starting tackle and guard in Las Vegas at points over the past three years, Eluemunor will receive a considerable raise on his most recent Raiders contract. Eluemunor could give the Giants an option at guard, but the veteran spent last season at right tackle.

The former fifth-round pick spent time in Baltimore and New England prior to his stint with the Raiders. He’s started 45 of his 87 career appearances, with 31 of those starts coming over the past two seasons.

Eluemunor finished this past season ranked 36th among 81 qualifying offensive tackles, per Pro Football Focus, with the site slightly favoring his run-blocking prowess to his pass-blocking ability. Pro Football Focus liked him even more in 2022, with the lineman barely missing a top-20 ranking at his position.

The Giants have been busy adding to their offensive line after allowing 85 sacks last season, the second-highest total in league history. The team agreed to a deal with former Packers starter Jon Runyan Jr. earlier today, and they could be in the market for even more depth with both Ben Bredeson and Justin Pugh hitting free agency.

Giants, Panthers Discussing Brian Burns Trade

March 11th, 2024 at 4:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

Much of Monday’s action has related to the opening of free agency, which will officially take place later this week. Trades – in certain cases – are still very much on the table as a roster-building strategy this time of year.

Should the Panthers elect to trade franchise-tagged edge rusher Brian Burns, the Giants could be a landing spot. SNY’s Connor Hughes reports a mutual interest exists between Burns and New York on a trade which would be accompanied by a lucrative new deal. The sides have been discussing Burns for a while, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reports. No deal is final, but it appears this process has legs that could produce finality to a long-running saga. As of Monday afternoon, this process is trending toward a deal, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones tweets. Nothing is final just yet, however.

A recent development pointed to a trade being in play. Carolina paused Burns extension talks — once again, as the sides have been at it for a while off and on — just before franchise-tagging him. A tag had long been in play for the 2019 first-round pick, but trade offers have come in as well.

Teams pursued Burns at each of the past two trade deadlines, but Carolina stood pat. One of the bigger “what if?” trades in recent NFL history transpired in 2022, when the Rams offered two-first-rounders and a third for the talented edge rusher. The Panthers declined the offer, and they did not receive any proposals in that ballpark in 2023. Burns playing out his rookie contract will make matters more difficult for the Panthers to obtain comparable value to that Rams blockbuster offer in a trade.

Burns, 25, would obviously bring a major upgrade to the Giants. Big Blue has sought an edge rusher to pair with Kayvon Thibodeaux, and the first two years of a Burns contract would align with Thibodeaux’s rookie deal. The Giants can keep the 2022 first-rounder on his rookie pact through 2025, with a fifth-year option decision for ’26. Burns has sought a $30MM-per-year deal, however, and the Panthers have been reluctant to authorize it. As Carolina shifts to a new GM and coaching staff, it does seem like a trade is in play now.

While edge rushers are obviously valuable, Burns needing a top-market contract will cut into his trade value. He has not brought the kind of production Khalil Mack did when the Raiders received two first-rounders for the former Defensive Player of the Year. CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson offers that teams are hesitant to part with a first-rounder and change for Burns, who has one double-digit sack season on his resume. That said, Burns has 46 career sacks and has never totaled fewer than 7.5 in a season.

Giants, RB Devin Singletary Agree To Deal

March 11th, 2024 at 3:10pm CST by Ben Levine

Not long after losing Saquon Barkley, the Giants have found a replacement. Devin Singletary has agreed to a deal with New York, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter notes the three-year pact has a base value of $16.5MM and it can reach up to $19.5MM via incentives. That marks a major raise compared to the one-year accord Singletary played on in Houston last season. He took on lead back duties midway through the 2023 season, and he has now parlayed that into a multi-year deal.

In terms of guarantees, The Athletic’s Dan Duggan adds Singletary secured $9.5MM locked in at signing. This includes $3.5MM of the 5-foot-7 back’s 2025 base salary ($4.75). This stands to give the ex-Bills draftee a reasonable shot at being part of the 2025 Giants’ roster.

The former fourth-round pick started 56 games through four seasons in Buffalo, topping 900 yards from scrimmage in each of those campaigns. Despite showing some ability in both the run and pass game, Singletary’s lack of top-level consistency led to him settling for a one-year contract with the Texans last offseason.

Singletary was expected to be a backup to Dameon Pierce, who was coming off a productive rookie campaign. However, the sophomore RB couldn’t carry that production into 2023, forcing Singletary into a larger role than expected. The veteran ended up starting 10 of his 17 appearances, finishing with 1,091 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns.

He parlayed that performance into a three-year deal with the Giants, where he’ll temporarily sit atop the depth chart. With Barkley out of the picture and Matt Breida also sitting in free agency, Singletary will surely be penciled in for the RB1 role ahead of the likes of Gary Brightwell and Eric Gray, although the team could look to add additional depth either via free agency or the draft.

Giants To Sign G Jon Runyan Jr.

March 11th, 2024 at 2:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although the Giants did not receive what they wanted from their Mark Glowinski signing, they are diving into the guard market once again. Jon Runyan Jr. is coming to New York.

The second-generation NFL O-lineman will sign a three-year, $30MM agreement, with ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter indicating the deal includes $17MM guaranteed at signing. As expected, guards are doing well in this year’s tampering period. The Giants allowed a staggering sack total in 2023; they will aim to protect Daniel Jones (or a rookie heir apparent) better in 2024.

Runyan, 26, ranked 17th in pass block win rate last season and has started 50 games over the past three years. The former sixth-round pick has lined up at both guard spots. He has graded as a better pass-blocking guard compared to his ground-game chops. Considering the Giants allowed 83 sacks last year — the second-most allowed since sacks became a tracked stat in 1963 — a guard with pass-game credentials makes plenty of sense for a team that does not have a fixture there.

The Packers have let a host of interior O-linemen walk in free agency over the past several years. Runyan will follow Corey Linsley and T.J. Lang out the door. Green Bay signed off on a top-market Elgton Jenkins deal near the end of the 2022 season, signaling Runyan would need to land his money elsewhere.

The Giants will give him that chance, being set to pair the former late-round pick with tackles Andrew Thomas and Evan Neal and center John Michael Schmitz. Pro Football Focus graded Neal and Schmitz poorly last season; Runyan should provide some stability for a team with some major questions on offense. The Giants cut Glowinski recently, freeing up some guard money. The team now has two eight-figure-per-year payments up front, with Thomas signing a monster extension last year.

LS Casey Kreiter Re-Signing With Giants

March 10th, 2024 at 6:00pm CST by Ely Allen

The Giants haven’t necessarily had consistency at the kicker and punter positions of their special teams unit in the past several years, but long snapper remains a pillar in New York. ESPN’s Jordan Ranaan reports that the team is re-signing long snapper Casey Kreiter to return for his fifth season as a Giant.

Originally an undrafted free agent out of Iowa in 2014, Kreiter signed with the Cowboys. He was unable to surpass the team’s long-time starter at the position, L.P. Ladouceur, so eventually he found his way to Denver in 2016. Kreiter replaced the departing Aaron Brewer as the Broncos’ long snapper before suffering a season-ending calf injury during a practice in December. He was re-signed and able to retain his starting job, making his first and only Pro Bowl in 2018 with Denver.

Two years later, Kreiter departed from Colorado to New York in order to compete with Zak DeOssie, the Giants long snapper for 13 years from 2007-19. After Kreiter won out in the preseason, DeOssie retired, setting the stage for Kreiter’s current run as the new mainstay on special teams. Kreiter was reportedly expected to receive outside interest from around the league, but New York holds on to retain some consistency in their special teams group.

Giants To Host CB Darious Williams

March 9th, 2024 at 8:54am CST by Ben Levine

After getting cut by the Jaguars earlier this week, veteran cornerback Darious Williams has lined up his first visit. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Williams is set to visit with the Giants tomorrow.

[RELATED: Jaguars To Release CB Darious Williams]

Williams wasn’t cut for his on-field production. With the Jaguars scrounging funds in order to retain their top free agents, the team was forced to move on from their cornerback. Williams’ release freed up a sizable $11.5MM of his $12MM cap hit for 2024, making the move a no-brainer for the Jaguars.

Considering his production, Williams is expected to be a popular name in free agency. The Alabama-Birmingham product finished last season with four interceptions, 19 pass deflections, and a pair of forced fumbles while limiting QBs to a passer rating of 63.9 when he was the closest defender. Pro Football Focus was also fond of his production, ranking him 13th among 127 qualifying cornerbacks.

The former UDFA started his career with the Ravens before catching on with the Rams. He eventually turned into a starter during his time in Los Angeles, and he parlayed that experience into a three-year, $30MM contract with the Jaguars in 2022. 2024 will mark Williams’ age-31 season, so he may be hard pressed to earn a similar number of years on his next contract. However, when considering his performance from this past season, he could match (or surpass) his AAV.

As Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News points out, cornerback was one of the Giants’ top needs heading into the offseason. With Adoree’ Jackson likely on his way out of New York, the team will need a starter opposite Deonte Banks. That’s led some to speculate that the Giants could look to fill that hole via the draft, although it sounds like they will first look towards free agency.

Of course, cornerback isn’t necessarily the team’s first (or even second) priority. As ESPN’s Jordan Raanan writes, the Giants are willing to pay top-of-the-market value for a free agent guard, and they’re also eyeing reinforcement on the edge opposite Kayvon Thibodeaux.

Giants Meet With Russell Wilson

March 8th, 2024 at 11:13pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Steelers became the first team connected to Russell Wilson following the news of his imminent Broncos release, but one other team was believed to be in on the decorated quarterback. It appears the Giants are that mystery suitor.

Wilson has already met with — or is meeting with — the Giants, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter. The two-year Broncos quarterback was recently at an airport in Newark. While Wilson arrived in Pittsburgh for a Steelers meeting Friday, the 35-year-old passer appears squarely on the Giants’ radar. The Broncos are allowing Wilson to negotiate with teams before his actual release.

[RELATED: Giants Looking Into Trade-Up For QB]

Wilson’s Giants meeting can be labeled an “exploratory” session, Schefter adds, confirming the Pittsburgh trip is a go. The Giants fit would seem a bit clunkier, due to Daniel Jones‘ 2024 guaranteed salary, but GM Joe Schoen has frequently mentioned the team will add a QB this offseason. What remains to be seen is how the Giants will go about doing that.

They have been increasingly tied to an effort to trade up for a passer or select one at No. 6. A Wilson addition would stand to be a different route altogether, and the team would then seemingly be signing off on a Wilson-Jones competition despite the $40MM-AAV contract it gave its starter last March. The Giants can reasonably escape that contract in 2025.

Financially, a Wilson move would be a creative effort on the Giants’ part. Due to offset language in his current contract, Wilson can sign with his next team for the league minimum and stick the Broncos with the rest of the bill. Although Wilson made a point to thank several of his former teammates in a farewell post, he unsurprisingly omitted Sean Payton and George Paton when confirming he was done in Denver. Wilson has confirmed the Broncos attempted to convince him to move the vesting date for his 2025 guarantee; he refused, which will led to an official exit March 13 (as a post-June 1 cut).

That drama would benefit the accomplished passer’s next team, which would be able to add a former franchise QB at a significant discount. Wilson is currently tied to a $49MM-per-year Broncos deal; he played on a $35MM-AAV Seahawks pact from 2019-21. While attached to the latter deal, Wilson famously made a list of acceptable trade destinations. The Bears, Saints, Raiders and Cowboys initially made that 2021 list, but the then-Seahawks starter amended it to include the Broncos and Giants. He ended up waiving his no-trade clause for Denver, which proved to be a poor fit.

The Giants have Jones and Tommy DeVito under contract for 2024; they are not expected to re-sign Tyrod Taylor. Jones is on track to be ready for training camp, though four-plus months still remain until that point on his ACL rehab journey. Wilson has expressed obvious interest in becoming a starter again. With Schoen repeatedly indicating Jones will be the starter when he returns, it would seem the Giants would not be the favorite to secure Wilson’s services. Though, it will depend on just how many teams are truly interested.

Schefter also mentions the Raiders as a possibility, but that is not certain yet. Antonio Pierce has made no secret of the team’s interest in adding a long-term option; at this stage, Wilson does not qualify as such. The Raiders have joined the Giants in being regularly linked to a first-round trade-up maneuver.

Giants On Radar For QB J.J. McCarthy

March 8th, 2024 at 4:34pm CST by Sam Robinson

Giants-quarterback connections are becoming a regular offseason occurrence this offseason. A year after giving Daniel Jones $81MM guaranteed, the Giants look to be considering a long-term replacement.

Buzz about Big Blue trading up for a quarterback in Round 1 or selecting one at No. 6 continues to surface, and while we are moving toward prime smokescreen season, the Giants are being tied to a fast-rising QB prospect. The Giants are believed to be interested in J.J. McCarthy, according to the Washington Post’s Jason La Canfora.

[RELATED: Giants Looking Into Trading Up For QB]

SNY’s Connor Hughes confirms Combine noise about the Giants and McCarthy being rather difficult to ignore, adding that the Giants should be classified as focused on adding a long-term Jones successor. Jones’ injuries look to be the bigger issue than the team’s confidence in him, Hughes adds. The 2019 No. 6 overall pick has sustained two neck injuries, including a 2021 season-ender that required surgery, and is now rehabbing the ACL tear. Jones also missed a 2020 game due to an ankle injury. Jones is expected to be ready for training camp; it could be his last as a Giant.

The Giants have gone about QB transitions in different ways. Jones took over for Eli Manning by Week 2 of the 2019 season, and Giants great retired after that season. Manning replaced Kerry Collins in 2004, with the incumbent being moved off the roster soon after the draft. The Giants signed Kurt Warner as the Manning bridge.

Jones’ contract would nix the Collins-to-Manning transition path, as he is due $36MM guaranteed this year. If the Giants are to add a rookie, that player would presumably begin the season behind Jones, who would then be set for an awkward farewell season. But the Giants can move on from their four-year, $160MM QB contract in 2025 rather easily, taking on only $11.1MM in dead money with a post-June 1 designation.

McCarthy has plenty of intrigued parties around the league, according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler, who would not be surprised by the Michigan alum landing in the top 10. The Wolverines won the national championship with a then-20-year-old starter at the controls; McCarthy turned 21 earlier this year. Jim Harbaugh did not ask his QB to do too much, and he totaled just 2,991 passing yards in 15 games. But the 6-foot-2 passer showed accuracy improvement, vaulting to a 72.3% completion rate; his TD-INT ratios in two starter seasons: 22-5, 22-4.

Daniel Jeremiah’s NFL.com big board still places McCarthy outside the top 20, at 21st; ESPN.com’s big board places him 15th. Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye rank in the top five on each board. QB demand annually pushes prospects up the board, and if the Giants are indeed interested, they probably are not the only ones. The Raiders, Broncos and Vikings have been connected to trade-ups as well. Holding the No. 12 pick, Denver has done considerable work on McCarthy and Oregon’s Bo Nix. Minnesota and Las Vegas carry the Nos. 11 and 13 choices. The Giants have this lot outflanked at No. 6, and with the continued rumors about the team’s QB interest, their pick stands to be one of this draft’s pivotal points.

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