NFL Teams Calling About Brian Burns, D.J. Moore After Matt Rhule Firing

The team fired Rhule after in the middle of his third season after a 1-4 start to 2022.

A day after another double-digit defeat, the Panthers made Matt Rhule the first midseason coaching firing of the 2022 season. The move could be the first of a series of big changes for the franchise in the weeks to come.

SI‘s Albert Breer reports that teams have already begun to inquire about a pair of veteran Carolina players, one on each side of the ball. With the league’s trade deadline less than a month away, rumors about player movement could ramp up in the weeks to come. From Breer:

Final thing on the Panthers—the calls have already come in from other teams inquiring about their veteran players. Two in particular, I’m told, have the attention of opposing GMs. One is pass rusher Brian Burns, who’s among the NFL’s very best defensive players, is still just 24 years old and is in a contract year. The other is receiver D.J. Moore, who has an affordable contract with a prorated $20.735 million salary for the rest of this year, and $52.265 million due from 2023-25, and years of experience as a No. 1 receiver.

Carolina, for its part, hasn’t shown a willingness to deal either. But those are the two commanding the most interest.

Burns, a first-round pick out of Florida State in 2019, has started 40 games in his career and tallied nine sacks in each of the previous two seasons. He has four sacks in five games so far this year, and made his first career Pro Bowl appearances last season.

Moore is in his fifth season with the Panthers, and has topped 1,100 receiving yards in each of the previous three years. He has 17 catches for 197 yards through the first five games in ’22.

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