Brian Burns keeps showing the Panthers how badly they messed up

Carolina Panthers fans know all too well what Brian Burns could bring to the table when firing on all cylinders. Yet somehow, they completely fumbled his contract situation.

And he is making them pay for it.

Burns has been on a tear this season with the New York Giants. Although the former Florida State standout was a two-time Pro Bowler in Carolina, his inability to run plays was an ongoing frustration. Now, he looks like the complete package, which makes the Panthers' decision to trade him all the more inexplicable.

Brian Burns is making the Carolina Panthers look extremely foolish with stunning start

The Panthers dug themselves into an unnecessary hole with Burns. Scott Fitterer turned down a trade package consisting of two first-round picks and more from the Los Angeles Rams. He should have been immediately extended after that, but the botched negotiations and hesitancy to meet the asking price saw the relationship between player and franchise sour considerably.

There didn't seem to be much effort from Dan Morgan and Brandt Tilis to keep Burns around. Perhaps they held a similar opinion that he wasn't worth the money, trading him to the Giants for second and fifth-round picks. They were wrong.

Burns is taking the league by storm as part of the vaunted Giants' defensive front. He was a man amongst boys on Thursday Night Football against the Philadelphia Eagles, gaining two sacks, six tackles, two quarterback hits, and two tackles for loss as the G-Men secured a stunning upset with the national spotlight glaring.

This takes Burns up to seven sacks from his opening six games of the campaign. He's on course to obliterate the career-best 12.5 sacks attained with the Panthers in 2022. The Giants are a team reborn, and he's among the biggest reasons why.

Carolina believed the funds and picks could aid in an extensive rebuilding project. Their defense is improving gradually, but finding the consistency needed is the next challenge. But it's hard to look at the way Burns is performing right now and not think there is some regret in the Panthers' front office about not taking a leap of faith.

If Burns continues in this manner, and the edge-rushing salaries keep exploding, his contract is going to look pretty cheap when it's all said and done. It's another example of the small-minded thinking under previous regimes, and Morgan either didn't want to or couldn't salvage the broken situation.

And now, Burns is heading toward superstardom as the Panthers languish in mediocrity.