National Football League

Panthers place franchise tag on Brian Burns, but will they trade him?

Published Mar. 5, 2024 11:48 a.m. ET

Hours before the NFL's deadline for such moves, the Panthers announced Tuesday morning they had placed their franchise tag on edge rusher Brian Burns, who would otherwise have become one of the league's most coveted free agents next week.

The move was widely expected, and will pay Burns $24 million in 2024, a nice raise from the $16 million he got on his fifth-year option last season.

The big question to come is this: Do the Panthers intend to keep Burns this season?

He made the Pro Bowl in 2021 and 2022, missing this past season when he had only eight sacks, one-half off his career low in five NFL seasons. Some of that can be attributed to the Panthers' overall struggles, constantly trailing, which means opponents aren't passing late in games when sacks are perhaps easiest to come by.

Despite the sack downturn, Burns, who turns 26 next month, is in position to be one of the highest-paid pass-rushers — and by that, highest-paid non-quarterbacks — in the NFL, reportedly seeking $30 million a year or more. The Panthers wanted to keep Burns enough that they turned down a widely reported offer from the Rams of two first-round picks. But if Carolina doesn't want to pay that much on a long-term deal, it's probably in the team's best interests to deal him, or "tag and trade" him for a package of draft picks.

The tagged salary of $24 million takes up a major chunk of the Panthers' existing salary-cap space, which was roughly $36 million entering the week. A struggling franchise should be hesitant to give up one of its best players, but the Panthers need enough help that between the picks acquired for Burns and the cap space freed up by his departure, Carolina could in theory upgrade four or five starting positions with new players.

What might their return look like on a Burns trade? The recent market for a tagged pass-rusher is a second-round pick and a later pick. The Jaguars got a two and a five for Yannick Ngakoue in 2020. The Seahawks got a first- and second-rounder from the Chiefs for Frank Clark in 2019, the same year that Seattle got two players and a third-round pick from the Texans for Jadeveon Clowney.

The Panthers have a new head coach in Dave Canales and a new general manager in Dan Morgan, and draft picks are the easiest way for a new regime to rebuild a roster with good fits for new schemes and preferences. Carolina gave up its first-round pick — now first overall — in last year's trade for quarterback Bryce Young, so they don't have as many top picks to facilitate that.

Who might be willing to trade for Burns? The Ravens would make sense, and in theory could offer their first-round pick, 30th overall, three spots ahead of Carolina's top pick right now. The Rams won't offer what they had before on Burns, but they're logically still a top suitor, and they have a bevy of picks, so they could potentially offer their second (52nd overall) and a fifth. Washington, with ample cap room to handle an extension with Burns, has an extra second and third this year, so the Commanders could package the 36th and 101st picks to add Burns, helping offset their trading Montez Sweat and Chase Young at last year's deadline.

If the Panthers can find a trade partner in the immediate future, they can use the $24 million in new cap space to help retool their offense around Young, especially with upgrades at receiver and interior offensive line. That could be a receiver like Arizona's Marquise Brown or a guard like Damien Lewis, who worked with Canales for three years in Seattle.

It's possible that Carolina will mend fences with Burns and work out a long-term extension, but that could be a hard sell with a new coach and GM, even with defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero returning for 2024. Barring an in-season trade, the Panthers would have to win Burns over without any proof of the franchise turnaround ahead of them. Carolina hasn't made the playoffs in his five years in the league, so that might be a priority for the team he chooses for his next contract.

Greg Auman is FOX Sports' NFC South reporter, covering the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He is in his 10th season covering the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having spent time at the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.