During the 2022 season, the Los Angeles Rams were looking for different ways to get things back on track. They explored a trade for Christian McCaffrey before the deadline but were one-upped by the San Francisco 49ers. They also called the Carolina Panthers about Brian Burns, seeking to acquire the star pass rusher who still had a year and a half left on his contract.
It became public that the Rams offered two first-round picks and a second-rounder for Burns, but the Panthers still turned them down despite that being a massive haul. It was shocking to see Carolina decline the Rams’ offer but the Panthers were confident they could extend Burns with a long-term deal.
A year and a half later, they still haven’t come to terms on a deal with Burns. Even with a new head coach and general manager, the Panthers are struggling to lock up their top defender. According to The Athletic, the Rams’ significant offer in 2022 is part of the reason for that.
When the specifics of the Rams’ offer (two future first-round picks and a 2023 second-rounder) became public, it strengthened Burns’ position because he and his camp knew Fitterer had turned down a massive haul. When the Panthers wouldn’t budge off their number, the contract talks ended and Burns played the 2023 season on his fifth-year option (worth $16 million). The 25-year-old did not have his best season as he played through injuries and saw his sack total dip to eight, his lowest since his rookie season. It didn’t help that the Panthers didn’t hold a fourth-quarter lead in any of their 17 games.
The Panthers’ negotiations with Burns are entering borderline ugly territory, with the franchise tag a near-certainty as the next step in the process. Carolina will have to use the tag before March 5 but even that won’t guarantee Burns remains in a Panthers uniform.
He could very easily hold out for an extension the way so many in the past have, and it’s even likely that he will. Why? Because he knows teams covet him, even if it means trading valuable picks for him. The Rams’ substantial offer nearly two years ago told Burns and his agent that he will have teams looking to trade for him.
It’s unclear if another team would be willing to part with two first-round picks for Burns on the non-exclusive tag because he’s now a year and a half older than he was when the Rams made their offer, but clearly he’s a prized pass rusher and has never had fewer than 7.5 sacks in his five seasons in the NFL.
Burns has all the leverage in his talks with the Panthers, in part because the Rams showed so much interest in him in 2022.
