Panthers News: Bryce Young, Brian Burns, Miles Sanders and dark horses
By Dean Jones
Carolina Panthers OLB Brian Burns ranked
Fans are waiting with bated breath for news regarding a bumper new contract for Brian Burns either before or during the 2023 season. The star edge presence took another leap forward in 2022 en route to his second-straight Pro Bowl selection, which was made all the more remarkable by the Carolina Panthers having no consistent pass-rush opposite on the defensive front.
Burns is switching to a 3-4 outside linebacker within Ejiro Evero's scheme and could excel heading into a contract year. Negotiations will be difficult considering the money involved, but there seems to be a mutual willingness to keep complications to a minimum in pursuit of a successful outcome.
Just where Burns ranks among other top-end edge players around the league will also play a role in negotiations. According to Doug Farrar of USA Today Sports, the one-time Florida State stud sits at No. 8 league-wide.
"The Panthers were a heavy blitz team in the 2022 season, sending extra rushers on 31% of their snaps, which ranked sixth in the NFL. That shouldn’t at all diminish what [Brian] Burns did last season. The 16th overall pick in the 2019 draft out of Florida State had a career-defining season in 2022, racking up 13 sacks, 11 quarterback hits, 44 quarterback hurries, and 32 stops. With blitz-heavy teams, you want to look at sacks with four or fewer rushers, and Burns had five of those last season."
- Doug Farrar, USA Today Sports
This put Burns just one place behind Haason Reddick, his former Panthers teammate who attained second-team All-Pro honors last season. And once he gets paid handsomely at some stage in the coming weeks, then Carolina will be expecting elite-level production for the duration of his deal.