EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Giants outside linebacker Brian Burns won't be looking to prove anything to his old teammates when New York faces the Carolina Panthers on Sunday in Germany in a matchup of 2-7 teams.
Burns spent five years with the Panthers after being taken in the first round of the 2019 draft. He established himself as one of the top edge rushers in the game and a key leader of the Carolina defense.
For a time, the 26-year-old former Florida State star felt his career would be played entirely in North Carolina.
Things changed in his final two years as the Panthers continued to lose and started trading away key players such as running back Christian McCaffrey, receiver DJ Moore and defensive tackle Vernon Butler.
While Burns had 46 sacks in his five seasons, he was moved to the Giants in March for a second-round pick in the 2024 draft and a fifth-round choice next year.
“Like I said, business is business,” Burns said Wednesday after the Giants practiced for their game in Munich. “Business happened. I’m happy where I am. I’m blessed.”
Burns has played well for the Giants despite dealing with a nagging groin injury since the third game. He has five sacks, 36 tackles, seven tackles for loss, seven passes defensed and has been improving steadily after getting off to a slow start.
Burns said he never asked to be traded after Carolina went 2-15 in 2023.
Burns was optimistic about coming to New York. The Giants had made the playoffs in 2022 under first-year coach Brian Daboll, but stumbled last season, finishing 6-11. Adding Burns, drafting receiver Malik Nabers with the No. 6 overall pick and getting quarterback Daniel Jones healthy after knee surgery gave him hope.
Instead, the Giants have struggled to score this season. They will have a bye after this weekend. Fellow outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux is expected to return after the bye.
Burns said it's hard to compare the Panthers and Giants. It's two different teams with different circumstances and variables.
Burns said he didn't get a chance to say goodbye to a lot of people after being traded in the offseason. He still talks with some current and former Panthers such as linebacker Shaq Thompson, defensive back Jaycee Horn, San Francisco defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos and Washington linebacker Frankie Luvu.
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New York Giants linebacker Brian Burns celebrates a tackle during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Incumbent U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans won her bid for reelection Wednesday in Virginia's 2nd District race, defeating her Democratic challenger in a victory for Republicans aiming to keep the congressional seat in their battle to control the House.
Democrats had backed candidate Missy Cotter Smasal in hopes of reclaiming Kiggans’ seat after Republicans flipped it in the 2022 midterm election.
“I’m incredibly thankful that Southeast Virginia has once again chosen commonsense conservatism,” Kiggans said in a post on X early Wednesday. She also said that, “together we will get our country back on the right track and secure America’s success.”
In a statement conceding the race to Kiggans, Cotter Smasal praised her own campaign for focusing on “essential freedoms and protecting our Democracy.” She said her supporters "will continue to make their voices heard.”
Democrat Eugene Vindman and Republican Derrick Anderson remained locked in a close contest in the 7th District. With 99% of the votes counted in the race, Vindman led Anderson by a narrow margin.
Kiggans, a 53-year-old former Navy helicopter pilot, sought a second term while facing a challenge from Cotter Smasal, 46, who also served as a Navy surface warfare officer.
Differences between Kiggans and Cotter Smasal mostly traced the national fault lines between the two major political parties. In a fiery October debate, the two repeatedly painted each other as ineffectual and supportive of partisan policies that would hurt the coastal district. While Cotter Smasal centered her campaign on abortion access and defending American democracy, Kiggans focused on issues such as the economy and border security.
“Are you better off today than you were four years ago?” Kiggans said at the October debate. “If the answer is no, why would we give Democratic policies, which my opponent would support, another chance? I am running to restore that security we’ve been missing.”
The 2nd has traditionally been a swing district, oscillating in recent years between Republicans and Democrats who served in the Navy. For instance, former Navy SEAL Scott Taylor was a Republican who represented the district for one term before being defeated in 2018 by Democrat Elaine Luria, a former Navy commander. Luria served for two terms before she lost to Kiggans in 2022.
All U.S. House seats were up for election on Tuesday, including eight other districts in Virginia. Democratic Reps. Don Beyer, Gerry Connolly, Jennifer McClellan and Bobby Scott won their seats. Republican Reps. Ben Cline, Morgan Griffith and Rob Wittman also won reelection. State Sen. John McGuire also won Virginia’s 5th District after narrowly defeating incumbent Rep. Bob Good by less than a percentage point in a bitter primary, which led to a recount in August.
On Tuesday night, Democrat Suhas Subramanyam defeated Republican Mike Clancy in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District. Democrats sought to maintain the House seat representing a swath of northern Virginia exurbs after incumbent Rep. Jennifer Wexton said she would not run for reelection because she was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy.
In the 7th District, the race between Vindman and Anderson quickly became one of the most competitive in the country, with Republicans hoping to make gains in districts in which they don’t face an incumbent. Vindman, despite being a political newcomer, developed a national profile after blowing the whistle alongside his brother during then-President Donald Trump’s first impeachment. The former Army officer focused his campaign around abortion rights and the threat of MAGA extremism on democracy. Anderson, a fellow veteran and former Green Beret, pitched himself as the more affable candidate, and centered his campaign around the economy.
Republicans represented the district for nearly 50 years until Spanberger defeated former Republican Rep. David Brat in 2018.
Barakat reported from Falls Church, Virginia, and Finley from Virginia Beach.
Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Republican incumbent Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., running to represent Virginia's 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, waits to go on stage and address supporters during a voting rally at Ballyhoos in Virginia Beach, Va., Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (Kendall Warner/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
Missy Cotter Smasal speaks to members of the media at Ballyhoos in Virginia Beach, Va., after winning the Democratic nomination in the race to represent the 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, June 18, 2024. (Kendall Warner/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
Supporters of Republican incumbent Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., running to represent Virginia's 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, fill the outdoor space at Ballyhoos in Virginia Beach, Va., during a voting rally Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (Kendall Warner/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
Missy Cotter Smasal addresses her supporters at Ballyhoos in Virginia Beach, Va., after winning the Democratic nomination in the race to represent the 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, June 18, 2024. (Kendall Warner/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
Republican incumbent Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., running to represent Virginia's 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, speaks to a crowd of supporters during a voting rally at Ballyhoos in Virginia Beach, Va., Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (Kendall Warner/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
