Might Giants edge rusher Brian Burns be available?

Joe is going to guess the thought of trading a high draft pick for one of the better edge rushers in the game may chase Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht out of bed at 2 a.m. with a nasty, projectile acid reflux episode.

Last week as Dexter Lawrence stomped around New Jersey demanding a new pay raise — or else — after coming off career lows in sacks and tackles, stud Giants edge rusher Brian Burns told Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post that if Lawrence was traded, Burns said, “And I don’t want to play this season or any other season without him.”

(The New York Post story is behind a paywall, but Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk still had the excerpt.)

Last night, Lawrence was traded to Cincinnati for the No. 10 overall pick in Thursday’s draft.

So, Joe wonders, is Burns going to stick to his word and invoke Operation Shutdown until he, too, is shipped out of New Jersey?

While Joe has his doubts, as badly as the Bucs need an edge rusher, the G-Men now have a disgruntled, top-shelf pass rusher on their hands. Time to try to take advantage.

Licht worked magic once before with the Giants when he bit the bullet and pulled a third-round pick out of his body to send to New Jersey for Jason Pierre-Paul in 2018.

Not only was that Licht’s greatest heist, Joe maintains that transaction alone began the turnaround from the Bucs being the laughingstock of the NFC to three seasons later, dancing with the Vince Lombardi Trophy as NFL champs.

Joe doesn’t believe Burns, who is under contract for three more seasons, will be as cheap as the ransom Licht paid for JPP.

Will this happen? Joe really doubts it, sadly. But hey, a guy can dream, can’t he?