The crossroads of sport and big business came to a head on Labor Day in the Carolina Panthers organization when edge rusher Brian Burns continued to hold in for a new contract after a three-day weekend.
Burns’ leverage ploy began Thursday although no one with the team acknowledged it then. But that changed Monday as the Panthers began their Week 1 preparations for the Atlanta Falcons without their two-time Pro Bowl pass rusher.
Burns was at Bank of America Stadium and head coach Frank Reich said Burns attended meetings. But like Thursday, the 2019 first-round draft pick did not participate in the team’s on-field work.
Burns, 25, said in June he wanted to be paid among the NFL’s highest pass rushers, a market that will reset if the San Francisco 49ers and Nick Bosa can agree on a deal expected to reach $30 million a year. But while Bosa opted to hold out of training camp, Burns showed up to Wofford on time and practiced every day except when given the day off.
But with the two sides still far apart on an extension, according to a league source with knowledge of the negotiations but not authorized to discuss them, Burns and his camp decided to apply some pressure.
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Burns has not addressed the situation publicly. But teammates voiced their support of Burns, who is one of the team’s best players and one of the most respected.
“Everybody here knows,” linebacker Shaq Thompson said. “Everybody outside of here knows. Everybody in the stands knows. Everybody above us knows what he deserves and what he should be getting paid. They know what to do to make it right before Week 1.”
Shaq Thompson says everybody understands what Brian Burns is worth, including Panthers’ front office. pic.twitter.com/9WdvdiDMK7
— Joe Person (@josephperson) September 4, 2023
Burns finished with a career-high 12 1/2 sacks in 2022 and went to the Pro Bowl for the second year in a row.
The Panthers turned down the Los Angeles Rams’ offer of two first-round picks and a third for Burns at the trade deadline last season, reasoning that it would be much more difficult to replace a premier edge rusher than a running back or receiver.
General manager Scott Fitterer has said repeatedly that he wants Burns around for the long term. But while Burns is eyeing Bosa-type money at the top end of the edge rusher market, the Panthers are seemingly more comfortable with a deal that pays Burns about $23 million a year, similar to what Maxx Crosby received (a $23.5 million annual value) when the Las Vegas Raiders extended him last year.
By coming to training camp, Burns avoided the fines that Bosa and Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones have racked up. (The 49ers have said they would waive Bosa’s fines, which the NFLPA allows for players on their rookie deals.)
The Panthers could fine Burns if he continues to skip practices. If he were to sit out games, he would forfeit nearly $890,000 a week — or 1/18th of his $16 million salary that was guaranteed when the Panthers picked up his fifth-year option.
Thompson believes a resolution is needed by Wednesday when the Panthers’ Week 1 work will begin in earnest.
“We know he’s gonna be out there at the end of the day,” he said. “He knows he’s gonna be out there at the end of the day. And everybody upstairs better know he’s gonna be out there by Wednesday. He’s a big factor (in) this defense. He’s the one it really starts with, him and Derrick (Brown). They’ll make it right.”
“Need to see him in pads by Wednesday,” Thompson added. “I need to see my brother on that field.”
Veteran receiver DJ Chark, who signed with the Panthers during the offseason, said he has no problem with Burns trying to get paid.
“It’s a game where it’s a short shelf life,” Chark said. “So whenever you can get it, I advise everyone to get it no matter who you are. Because once this game is done with you, it’s done with you. So while you’re here, make the most of it and get what you can.”
The Panthers haven’t had any notable contract disputes since Fitterer came to Charlotte in 2021. Fitterer reached extensions with former wideout DJ Moore, cornerback Donte Jackson and (regrettably) receiver Chosen Anderson well before the start of the season.
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Reich praised Burns throughout the summer for his willingness to practice without a contract extension. Reich, a former NFL quarterback, said his view of Burns hasn’t changed.
“It’s hard, and both of these things can be true. I can say I love and respect Brian Burns and he’s gotta do what he’s gotta do,” Reich said. “But does that (hold-in) make it harder? Yeah, it makes it harder. That’s just the facts. I’m sure he understands that. You can’t find more of a team guy than him. But life is complicated sometimes. It gets complicated. So we just keep moving forward day by day.”
Further complicating matters for Reich is the decision to put Marquis Haynes on injured reserve with a back issue, leaving the Panthers without two of their top three edge rushers. The other pass rusher is 34-year-old Justin Houston, who just arrived in August.
But deadlines — in this case a 1 p.m. kickoff in Atlanta on Sunday and the start of the Bryce Young era — often spur action. And both Thompson and Chark say they are optimistic a Burns deal will get done.
“I’ve only known him for a short little bit since I’ve been here, but I knew of him before I got here,” Chark said. “I think he deserves to be one of the top (edges). Now how that plays out, I don’t know.
“You can’t deny talent. And I feel like it’s going to happen for him at some point. I’m pretty sure we as a team, we as a staff want him here. So I’m pretty sure they’re gonna make it happen.”
(Photo: Bob Donnan / USA Today)
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