Between a “sideline-type situation” and a special case for a special running back, the Carolina Panthers made two trades they had to make this past week. But when it comes to the team’s other desirable players, they don’t have to do anything.
One of those players, and perhaps the most desirable of them all, is defensive end Brian Burns—who was a topic of discussion on Saturday morning’s edition of SportsCenter. During his spot, ESPN senior NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler said the Pro Bowl pass rusher has drawn interest from a handful of top contenders—more specifically, the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia Eagles.
Fowler also noted that the Panthers are “probably done” wheeling and dealing and are inclined to keep standouts such as Burns, fellow defensive lineman Derrick Brown, wide receiver DJ Moore and cornerback Jaycee Horn to appeal to future head coaching candidates. But if they were to be moved off that stance, it’d take—as an anonymous general manager told Fowler—at least two first-round picks for Burns alone.
He’d go on to tweet this later that night:
With #Panthers GM Scott Fitterer saying it would take an ‘astronomical’ deal to part with young talent, here’s an example: multiple execs believe the minimum buy-in on Brian Burns is two first-round picks. That’s perceived as Carolina’s way of saying, ‘we’re not trading him.’
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) October 23, 2022
That sentiment was then echoed by both Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer and Fowler’s ESPN colleague Adam Schefter:
Fwiw, the #Eagles already have a pretty good pass rusher.
Price would need to be “astounding” to happen.
My understanding is that price would be franchise-altering for both sides of a potential Burns trade. https://t.co/h0Io41VKyf
— Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) October 22, 2022
"People have called about Brian Burns, Derrick Brown, Jaycee Horn & they've been told no by the Panthers" ~@AdamSchefter #PMSCFBESPN2 pic.twitter.com/y7HGrOWND5
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 23, 2022
So, while Carolina may be stuck in the basement of the NFL for the time being, they do have some long-term flexibility. They can either keep their promising young core and turn a rebuild into more of a retooling or go nuts and sell them off for some high-priced returns.
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