Plenty have pointed to the Panthers as potential sellers ahead of tomorrow’s trade deadline, and a move involving Brian Burns would represent the most impactful one possible. While that does not appear likely, an agreement between team and player on a new contract is not on the horizon either. 
The Pro Bowl edge rusher confirmed on Monday (via ESPN’s David Newton) that negotiations on an extension are still on hold. That has been the case since September, despite efforts on both sides during the offseason to gain traction on a long-term deal. As indicated by Burns himself and numerous reports, the Panthers have not come particularly close to hammering out an extension.
Burns is playing on the $16MM fifth-year option this season, and a wide gap still remains on the matter of compensation in his case. Mutual interest still exists to come to terms, but the threat of a franchise tag or a free agent departure has increasingly fueled speculation a trade could be coming. Burns was the target of a massive Rams proposal (one including two first-round picks) last year, but Carolina made it clear then, and in the spring trade which saw them acquire the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft, that Burns was untouchable.
The Florida State alum added that no new negotiations will take place “until it makes sense” to re-start them. The edge market has seen upward mobility recently, with Nick Bosa‘s record-breaking 49ers deal setting a new benchmark at the position That $34MM-per-year pact has been named as a target for Burns, while the Panthers are believed to be aiming closer to back end of the top 10 with respect to AAV (which would land him closer to the Rashan Gary Packers extension agreed to today).
Burns, 25, would carry signficant value for any acquiring team’s long-term future. Given the need for an extension to be worked out upon trading for him, though, it comes as no surprise that interest on that front has been relatively muted despite calls coming in. Continuing to anchor Carolina’s pass rush, Burns has posted five sacks in seven games this year, giving him 43 total in 71 games.
Of course, the Panthers could be persuaded to move on from the likes of wideout Terrace Marshall, cornerback Donte Jackson and safety/linebacker Jeremy Chinn. Those will remain names to watch in the immediate future, but even in the expected event Burns remains in Charlotte past tomorrow afternoon, his long-term status will still be in doubt.
He should have had his agent say out loud, he wouldn’t sign the tag in the offseason. Should have pushed the team now.
Ah, the old “Refuse to trade the star, refuse to extend the star” approach. Someone’s been watching the Raiders.
In all seriousness, though, they have to sign him at this point, or take a loss. Burns has a higher amount of leverage here than he normally would because of Carolina’s rejection of those proposed deals. Still, I’m not sure why they didn’t anticipate his high demands, as it seems they have. They decided last year that they were keeping Burns, and now are suddenly perplexed that he wants a big contract. He knows (and other teams know) that they’ve shown their hand already, essentially, and the lack of stability or team success doesn’t give Burns much incentive to lower his asking price. Is he asking too much? I’d say so. But he also has a lot more leverage than most players do in this situation, because Carolina committed to him.
When they labeled him untouchable, they gave up a lot of ground. I get that they didn’t want to trade him, so that part makes sense, but when you see the massive trade package that was offered, it makes that commitment look much stronger. So everybody knows how highly the Oanthers value Burns-especially because they were willing to deal Moore instead. Perhaps it would have been a good idea to start negotiating then, instead of letting it drag out afterward with that seed planted. If they trade Burns now, it would likely be pretty embarrassing, because there’s no way that they’d get the same return. It’s hard to negotiate when everyone knows your ideal outcome. So now, Burns wants a ton of money, and how is Carolina supposed to answer? Just play it off for the franchise tag and hope for the best for a player that you want to be a cornerstone?
I don’t know how Carolina plans to negotiate with Burns, but they should bear in mind that they don’t have many advantages if they try to be standoffish with him. They haven’t earned that on the field or in the locker room, and the changing faces around the organizations don’t help either. They’re going to have to shell out a lot for Burns, and it just feels like they could have planned this much better.