Much to the dismay of quite a few fans, the Carolina Panthers stood pat through this year’s trade deadline. But sometimes, staying pat can be a good thing.
Head coach Frank Reich spoke with reporters following Wednesday’s practice, nearly 24 hours after the deadline had officially passed. He was asked if anything was cooking leading up to 4 p.m. ET.
“So I was workin’ and game-plannin’, and Scott [Fitterer], was I know busy, he came in once or twice, said he had some conversations,” he stated. “But they were brief. They were brief with me. He came down at the end and nothing materialized.”
Most notably for Carolina, nothing materialized with outside linebacker Brian Burns—whose name floated around in trade rumors over the past months. But, as expected, the Panthers held on to their two-time Pro Bowl pass rusher—something Reich was extremely content about.
“Oh yeah,” he replied with a smile when asked if he’s glad Burns is still on the roster. “I am really, really happy that Brian Burns is still here. That guy, again, I can’t say enough about. He’s our leader, he’s a great player, he’s elite in every way. I mean, we always knew we wanted him here so . . . glad about that.”
Oh, we’re sure he is.
