Brian Burns was speaking to reporters after he was named one of the Giants’ five captains last Thursday. A few teammates yelled nearby as they walked into the shower.
“Excuse me, fellas! I appreciate you,” Burns responded to quiet them. They apologized and told Burns to finish his interview. He laughed as he continued his answer.
The tone was in jest but it showed the respect Burns carried in the locker room. He’s not just more comfortable in his second year, the linebacker admired for his off-field approach as much as his on-field production.
It was evident when coach Brian Daboll showed the team clips of Burns’ practice reps during training camp. Daboll used it as an example of the standard he wants for this year’s team to be tougher, more hard-nosed.
“I’d say that Brian has really exemplified what we’re trying to do here throughout starting back in April,” Daboll said on Aug. 14. “The way he practices, the way he approaches things, I’ve been very pleased with Burns. He’s given us good reason to be very pleased with the way he does things day in and day out.”
Burns was already held in high esteem after his first season. He was one of two Giants along with Greg Van Roten to start every game. He led the Giants with 17 tackles for loss and was second with 8.5 sacks.
Near the end of the season, he was revered as if he was a captain with injuries decimating the roster. Teammates praised how hard he played with while fans focused on landing a high draft pick as the losses piled up.
All of that made him appreciate his fellow Giants voting him a captain with Russell Wilson, Bobby Okereke, Darius Slayton and Dexter Lawrence.
“I don’t take it for granted. I was a captain for three years in Carolina,” Burns said. “I didn’t expect to be a captain in my first year here, last year. I don’t take it for granted to have that ‘C’ on my chest to represent my teammates, to represent this organization and my coaches and everybody. It means a lot to me.”
The extra responsibility also comes with more expectations in the second year of a five-year, $141-million contract. While Burns had a fine season, it didn’t match his performance from 2020-22 with the Panthers. During that stretch, he had no fewer than nine sacks each season, including a career-high 12.5 sacks and 22 quarterback hits.
Perhaps it’s why he’s raised his level of focus. In the joint practices with the Jets, he was a one-man force causing havoc against the offensive line.
“We’ve watched a ton of film and identified those areas (to improve) and tried our best to identify a road map to him having the best season he’s had yet,” outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen said. “He’s just completely embraced it. For him in year seven, after having gotten paid, just watching him approaching it, it’s one of the coolest things I’ve seen from a player in an offseason since I’ve been around this league.
It’s another reason Burns earned the “C” on his jersey. Now it’s just translating it to action. While the Giants will focus more this week on the Commanders ahead of Sunday’s season opener, Burns is already expecting a different Jayden Daniels than the quarterback who won Offensive Rookie of the Year.
“I expect him to be better than he was last year and that’s saying a lot because that young man has a true talent,” Burns said of Daniels. “He picked up the game, the game slowed down for him really fast. I expect him to be great, so we’ll see.”
The same could be said for Burns in his second Giants season. There’s extra weight on his shoulders with the double burden of higher expectations and being an official captain.
It reminds of a quote associated with Burns’ favorite comic character, Spider-Man. With great power comes great responsibility and Burns is ready to meet that challenge.
“I don’t put any expectations or predictions or any of that stuff out in the open,” Burns said. “I’m just trying to enjoy the process. If I take care of everything that we’re doing right now, it’ll show. It’ll show in ways.”
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.