On Wednesday, Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich named his team’s six captains for the 2023 season. Among them is outside linebacker Brian Burns, who is currently catching some headlines for another reason.
As the Panthers take the practice field for the first time this week, just four days ahead of their season opener against the Atlanta Falcons, Burns remains without the contract extension he’s been looking for this summer. And even despite his recent absences from a few team activities, Reich spoke on why Burns still commands enough respect to be voted as a team captain.
“I think it just shows the respect that he has in the locker room,” he said. “The player and the leader. He is a great player, but—make no mistake about it—he’s a great leader and the guys recognize both those things.”
Just as he was on Monday, Reich was then asked if he thinks Burns will be on the field for Week 1. The answer, however, remained the same.
“I don’t know,” he replied. “I really don’t know. But I’m not approaching it that way. I’m approaching it, like I know 30 years tells me, anything’s possible. Literally, anything’s possible. So, we’ll just keep moving forward.”
Reich also added that although this is a special case, he’s approaching it as any head coach has to.
“It’s different, but it’s not,” he stated. “It’s not apples to apples. If a player gets injured. What happens if a guy pulled this week? You adjust. So you just look at this like—hey, if a player’s not available for a practice or for a game or for whatever the situation is, this is for coaches. This is like what we do.”
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