OLB Brian Burns suffers torn ACL; will have surgery

Sep 28, 2026 at 04:14 PM

Director, Editorial Strategy

Outside linebacker Brian Burns suffered a torn ACL in the fourth quarter of the Giants' 12-7 victory over the Titans and will undergo surgery, coach John Harbaugh confirmed Monday afternoon.

Burns, who went down with 11:02 remaining in the game, was already playing through an ankle injury sustained last Monday night against the Rams. He did not practice all week and was listed as questionable on the final injury report.

Burns has never missed a game as a Giant, making 37 straight appearances since he was traded from the Panthers in 2024. Burns had started all of them until Sunday, when Kayvon Thibodeaux opened the game in his place.

Burns played 25 snaps on defense (41.7 percent of the total) against the Titans and registered one quarterback hit on Cam Ward.

The injury will cut short his encore to a banner year.

Burns racked up the accolades in 2025, when he was named second-team All-Pro by the Associated Press. He was also voted to his third career Pro Bowl, first with the Giants. Burns also made the Pro Bowl in 2021 and 2022 as a member of the Carolina Panthers.

In his seventh NFL season, Burns set career highs in sacks (16.5), quarterback hits (31), tackles for loss (22) and forced fumbles (tied with three) while starting all 17 games for his second consecutive season with the Giants. His 31 quarterback hits were the most by any Giant since the statistic started being tracked in 2006.

Another streak will come to an end for Burns.

He is one of eight players ever to record at least 7.5 sacks in each of his first seven seasons. The others are Reggie White, Derrick Thomas, DeMarcus Ware, Jared Allen, Aaron Donald, Ryan Kerrigan and Yannick Ngakoue.

Last month, Burns was voted No. 14 on the NFL's "Top 100 Players of 2026." It made him the highest-ranked Giants defender ever to appear on the list, which debuted in 2011 and is decided annually by current NFL players.

Burns has 71 sacks since he entered the league in 2019 as a first-round pick from Florida State, tied with Maxx Crosby for fifth in the NFL in that span.