Panthers Hit Brian Burns With The Franchise Tag

Panthers Hit Brian Burns With The Franchise Tag

Tag, you’re it. La’Jarius Sneed (link) and Tee Higgins (link) have already been hit with the tag. Now the Panthers will make Brian Burns the third player to join that list. Carolina will place the franchise tag on Burns who is set to earn $24 million for the upcoming season if he plays under the provision.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network was the first to report the news:

The #Panthers officially placed the tag on star edge Brian Burns, and his tag number is $24M fully for one season.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 5, 2024

Burns, 25, has 46 sacks over the past five seasons. 2023 was a bit of an injury plagued season as Carolina finished the season with the worst record in the league. I’m not sure he would have made much of a difference even if healthy on a 2-15 team.

It’s hard not to think what could have been. The Panthers turned down two first rounders for Burns, once upon a time. For as good as Burns is, that trade probably would have been a huge game changer for Carolina if they handled it correctly. It would have actually allowed them to build a real team around Bryce Young.

Brian Burns Has Developed Into An Elite Pass Rusher

For now, Burns is under the tag and the team will likely pursue a long term agreement with the former Florida State pass rusher. Hopefully, things will be better in 2024 in Carolina. They do have a new head coach coming in with Dave Canales. Time will tell if that turns into a good hire.

Should the Panthers reconsider trading Burns? That might be the real question that needs to be asked.

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