Giants counting on Brian Burns to break cycle of recent big-money mistakes

The Giants didn’t pay record-setting money for slow Burns, sick Burns or freezer Burns. 

While the return of Daniel Jones from a torn ACL and Malik Nabers replacing Saquon Barkley as the offensive focal point might be the two-pronged talk of the first few days of training camp, pass-rusher Brian Burns is about to discover that effort, durability and production constantly are judged under the New York microscope. 

The Giants think he is the perfect fit to check all three boxes. 

General manager Joe Schoen’s decision to trade for Burns and sign him to the largest defensive-player contract in franchise history (five years, $141.5 million) is a domino that rippled across the rest of an offseason — most notably the second round of the NFL draft — that ends Tuesday when veterans report for camp. 

The pressure is on Schoen for the trade result to turn out better than the other signature decision of his three-year tenure: Re-signing Jones to a four-year, $160 million extension in 2023. 

And it is on Burns — the NFL’s third-highest-paid but 10th-best edge-rusher, according to a recent ESPN poll of league sources — to buck a recent history of disappointing introductory seasons by the Giants’ big-ticket additions.