Source: Perry Knotts / Getty
Monday was the opening to the franchise tag window, meaning all eyes in the Panthers fanbase are back on edge rusher Brian Burns as his pursuit of a long term deal with the team continues.
On Wednesday, Panthers beat writer for The Athletic Joe Person had a report that the team was willing to go as high as five years, $27 million per year, but that Burns is looking for something in the $30 million range. Earlier today, Person joined the Mac & Bone Show and provided a little more context on that report. “Just because that was the last offer they made, I don’t have all the details to how much was guaranteed. What was the signing bonus? It’s one thing to put out the number, the average annual value number the AAV, but there’s always more to these contracts, as you guys well know.”
Person not only provided that clarity but also gave his opinion on what he thinks will happen this offseason. “Do I think a deal is going to get done before March 5? No. I’d be shocked. I don’t even know how much time they’re really spending on that right now. So I think they go ahead and put the non exclusive tag on him, and then they decide at some point, are we going to start negotiating with him again? The last time the Panthers used a tag was 2021 on Taylor Moton, and that’s exactly what happened that summer. They started talking again, and they reached a deal where he didn’t have to play on the tag. So I think that would be good if Dan Morgan and Dave Canales and Brant Tillis believe that Brian Burns is an integral part of this team.”
Burns’s teammate, long snapper JJ Jansen, also joined the Mac & Bone Show earlier this morning and says that the two sides seem to still be trying to find some middle ground. “A year and a half ago, when the trade was turned down, you knew that a lot of these things were likely to come up. It’s a long process, negotiating a major deal for a prime player on your team in the prime of his career. So none of this, to me, is a surprise, as they‘ve kind of worked back and forth, team and player, working, trying to get to a middle ground. Remember, there has to be two sides to it. So anything Burns turned down wasn’t good enough for him, and anything that the team is offering what they’re willing to go to. So they‘re still trying to find a middle ground.”
Jansen also talked about how there are benefits for Burns to playing on the tag or signing the long deal. “What every player is looking for is the long term deal. The long term deal becomes the biggest chunk of money from aguaranteed standpoint, but the value of going year to year for the player is they usually are able to maximize their dollars, because year to year, you go to free agency every year. With a franchise tag, you won’t get to go to free agency yet, but you’re getting paid a ton of money to go to free agency before you go to free agency. Then in two years, he’d be 27, he’d be a free agent. So there is value in going year to year, but there’s also tremendous value in getting the one big contract. So I think that’s what both sides are weighing.”
Brad Spielberger, salary cap analyst for Pro Football Focus, was the final person that joined Mac & Bone on Thursday and he said that the sooner the deal can get done, the better for the Panthers. “The longer you wait, the more the market is going to go up . We saw Nick Bosa sign a deal for $34 million a year last year. Obviously, I’m not saying he’s going to get into those numbers, but that’s kind of the nature of what happens when a big contract comes through and rises every deal behind it. Now, you’re going to see Josh Allen and Jacksonville probably also get franchise tagged like Burns, but he has as an argument to become the next million per year edge rusher. So even if you don’t think Burns is kind of on the level of the guys at that number. You look at TJ Watt at $28 million, Joey Bosa at $27 million. Those guys signed their deals three, four years ago. That’s just kind of how the market tends to go. Burns is worth 27, $28 million a year, maybe not 30, but he’s certainly up in that area as one of the better pure pass rushers in the NFL. I know there was some scattered production this past season, but he’s a really, really good player, a foundational piece and a cornerstone of a defense. That’s his market.”
The Panthers will have until March 5th to decide if they will place the franchise tag on Burns or sign him to a long-term deal.
