Giants' Brian Burns, Abdul Carter work to make pass rush even better

Brian Burns was looking the part of a hard-to-handle pass rusher.

First it was in one-on-one clashes and then during an 11-on-11 attack with a “sack” against Justin Fields. Not that there was any actual sacking allowed on this second and final day of the Giants’ joint practices with the Jets.

The Giants have upgraded their defense, and they may need to depend on that unit to hold up its end even more if the offense rides an up-and-down wave.

Burns could be part of the upgrades in his seventh season. The 6-5, 250-pound outside linebacker was a big get when the Giants traded with the Panthers for him in anticipation of a 2024 season that ended in misery at 3-14. However, Burns played through injuries and contributed 8 1/2 sacks to the cause.

And he has been consulting with three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to be even better and become a more well-rounded player.

“I’m just trying to take my game to a level it’s never been,” Burns said after his active Wednesday morning at the Giants’ Meadowlands training complex. “That will require me doing things that I never did.

“So I’ve been working with Dex quite a bit, talking to Dex a lot, just how to manipulate body positions and try to use my length and power more and not just all my speed and finesse. That’s been good to me so far, so I’ll keep working on that.”

The Jets and Giants will pick up again in their annual preseason game Saturday night at MetLife Stadium. The Giants held Fields to just 6-for-11 passing and “sacked” him four times across three team periods and a two-minute drill that closed the session. Fields did rip off a couple of long runs earlier in the session.

The Giants have added the third overall pick to the mix in linebacker Abdul Carter, another big-time pass-rushing threat. They also boosted the back end with a couple of vets, safety Jevon Holland and cornerback Paulson Adebo.

So is this defense coming together? Holland had a telling statement tucked inside his answer.

“I think so,” he said. “I would hope so, otherwise we're not going to win a lot of games if we don't.

“We are definitely taking steps together and growing, steadily improving.”

Burns, who has posted 54 1/2 career sacks, can see the promise, “saying the sky’s the limit.”

“Obviously, these guys get paid, too; that’s our opponents,” Burns said. “They’re going to make plays and things of that nature. But if we’ve got the mental resiliency and stick to the process, I feel like we can still take this far.”

He was out there feeling “a little nicked-up now.”

Then why not rest?

“It’s the Florida in me,” he said. “That’s how we were raised. If I can go, I’m going to go until I can’t no more.”

It was Lawrence’s idea to go help him raise his game. Burns’ response? “Everybody’s trying to get better,” he said.

That goes for Carter, too. Lawrence is also tutoring him.

“He sits right behind me in the meeting room, so I’m always talking with him trying to get better,” Carter said. “He helps me a lot.”

Carter got six snaps in the preseason-opening win Saturday at Buffalo, and he applied pressure on all three of his pass rushes.

Cowboys pass-rushing force Micah Parsons, a Penn State alum like Carter, wrote recently on X that he had been asked if Carter could be another great when it comes to pass rushing.

“I told them he could be the best one!” Parsons wrote.

Carter has that kind of disruptive potential against quarterbacks.

“That’s what they brought me here to do,” he said, “so I take a lot of pride in that and that’s what I do best.”

He was also busy posting on X Wednesday morning:

“Excuse me if you see me & I’m looking a lil rough, not getting haircut til I get a sack.”

Carter met the media later wearing a hood over that hair, the longest it has been in a while.

“Yeah, for sure,” Carter said. “But it won’t be like this for long.”

Notes & quotes: Wide receiver Jalin Hyatt, offensive lineman Evan Neal and defensive back Dru Phillips returned to practice after sitting out Tuesday’s joint session at the Jets’ facility. Tackle Jermaine Eluemunor didn’t practice Wednesday after the birth of his daughter. Cornerback Deonte Banks sat out with an undisclosed injury after coming off the field with athletic trainers Tuesday. Tight end Chris Manhertz sat out as well, presumably due to an injury . . . QB Jaxson Dart had praise for the offensive line, which didn’t yield a sack against the Bills: “I sent a message to them after the game that I've never played in a pocket like this.”