Giants fear season-ending ACL tear for pass rusher Brian Burns after win over Titans

Brian Burns limped through pregame warmups on a sprained left ankle that had kept him out of practice all week. By the fourth quarter of the New York Giants' 12-7 win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, the other knee gave out. Burns went down without contact while rushing the passer, was carried off the MetLife Stadium turf by teammates Aaron Stinnie and Andrew Thomas, and is now believed to have torn the ACL in his right knee, according to a report from NFL.com — an injury that would end his 2026 season three games in.

The 28-year-old edge rusher underwent an MRI Sunday night to confirm the diagnosis. Head coach John Harbaugh, hired away from the Baltimore Ravens in January to take over the Giants, told reporters afterward that the club was not yet ready to concede the worst.

"There is some hope there, but we won't know until we see the MRI," Harbaugh said in his postgame press conference.

The numbers behind the loss

Burns has been one of the most productive pass rushers in football since the Giants acquired him in a 2024 trade with the Carolina Panthers. He has recorded 25 sacks across his year and a half in New York, including 16.5 last season, when he earned his third career Pro Bowl selection and his first All-Pro nod. New York rewarded him with a five-year, $141 million contract extension that included $87.5 million in guarantees, making him one of the highest-paid edge rushers in the league.

This season had already been quieter for Burns statistically — he entered Sunday without a sack through two games — but he generated five quarterback pressures in three appearances, four of them against Tennessee before he went down, according to Next Gen Stats figures cited by NFL.com. He had not missed a game since arriving in New York and had sat out only three games in his entire NFL career, a durability record that made Sunday's injury more jarring for a Giants team already thin at key positions.

The win itself came on the back of a defensive stand. Safety Jevón Holland intercepted Titans quarterback Cam Ward with 17 seconds remaining to seal the 12-7 result, a game slowed by a nor'easter that brought wind and rain to the Meadowlands. Giants quarterback Jameis Winston finished 12 of 18 passing for 117 yards, while Ward went 23 of 36 for 181 yards with a touchdown and the game-ending interception, per the official box score.

A defense already being reshuffled

Burns' injury lands on a Giants roster that has spent September absorbing hits at premium positions. Second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart suffered MCL, PCL and meniscus damage to his left knee in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Rams and is scheduled for season-ending knee surgery, handing the starting job to Winston, a veteran journeyman signed as insurance. Losing Burns compounds that: the Giants now must replace both their franchise quarterback and their highest-paid defender within the season's first month.

Coaches are expected to lean more heavily on Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux at defensive end in Burns' absence, with rookie linebacker Arvell Reese also in line for an expanded role.

• Burns has 25 sacks in 27 games for the Giants since the 2024 trade from Carolina.
• He signed a five-year, $141 million extension with $87.5 million guaranteed.
• The Giants are 2-1 after Sunday's win, their second straight victory.
• New York's next three opponents — the Cardinals, Commanders and Saints — are a combined 4-5.

Reaction from the locker room

"Everybody knows what Burns means to the team, so I'm hoping it's nothing too bad. Keeping him in my prayers," said Carter, a sentiment echoed across a locker room that has grown accustomed to picking up injured teammates' workload this season. Harbaugh, addressing the win as a whole rather than any single injury, credited his players for grinding out a low-scoring, weather-affected game against a divisional-caliber opponent. "Nothing but respect for finding a way to win a tough game in the fourth quarter. That's really what's required in this league," he said.

Winston, thrust into the starting role by Dart's injury, dedicated the win to his sidelined teammate afterward, according to reporting from Yahoo Sports, which also detailed the medical uncertainty hanging over Burns' knee as the team awaited imaging results.

Who is affected beyond the injury report

Burns' absence, if confirmed as season-ending, reshapes New York's defensive identity for the remainder of 2026. He was not merely a name on the depth chart; he was the anchor of a pass rush that opposing offensive coordinators had begun to game-plan around specifically, and his $28.2 million annual salary reflects the value the front office placed on him after trading two draft picks to acquire him. Losing that presence puts more pressure on a secondary that has otherwise performed well, exemplified by Holland's game-sealing pick, and raises the stakes for younger pass rushers like Carter to produce consistently rather than situationally.

What happens next

The Giants have not issued a final, on-the-record diagnosis beyond describing Burns as having a knee injury pending MRI results, though multiple outlets, citing sources briefed on the situation, reported Sunday night and Monday morning that a torn ACL is considered the likely outcome. A formal announcement and, if the tear is confirmed, a timetable for surgery are expected in the coming days. Should the injury be season-ending, Burns would begin a recovery process that typically sidelines edge rushers for nine to twelve months, positioning him to return for training camp in 2027. In the meantime, New York turns to a three-game stretch against the Cardinals, Commanders and Saints that its coaching staff has already flagged internally as a chance to bank wins while Dart, and possibly Burns, work their way back from the injured list.