Why Trading Burns Was the Right Move for the Panthers

Carolina made the difficult decision earlier this offseason, but it was the right one.

Morgan Tencza-USA TODAY Sports

Trading a player of Brian Burns' caliber is not an easy decision to make. Anytime you have an elite pass rusher, you'd like to do everything in your power to hold on to that luxury for as long as humanly possible. Pass rushers like that just don't grow on trees.

All that being said, the Carolina Panthers made the right decision. I'll admit, at first, I thought it was the wrong thing to do. But after watching Dan Morgan pull his vision for this team together via free agency and the draft, it became evident that the trade with New York gave the Panthers the best chance to win in the future, as oddly as that may sound.

Why?

First things first, by not committing to $30 million plus per year to Burns, the Panthers had the cash to improve its offensive line with the signings of Damien Lewis and Robert Hunt, and it also provided a path to go ahead and lock up Derrick Brown through 2028. While it may be comforting to have a presence like Burns off the edge, it means absolutely nothing if Bryce Young can't stay upright. The only way this franchise will get turned around is if they give their quarterback a fighting chance.

Secondly, the Panthers' pass-rush group is now deeper than it was in 2023 and in previous years. I've used this Moneyball reference numerous times, but it makes sense. It's like they tried to re-create Burns in the aggregate with the signings of Jadeveon Clowney, D.J. Wonnum, and K'Lavon Chaisson. Brian Burns' cap hit in 2024 is $15.5 million. The combined cap hit for the Panthers' new trio of pass rushers? $12.6 million. Burns had fewer pass rushing opportunities last season, but he still finished the year with 1.5 fewer sacks than Clowney and had the exact same total (eight) as Wonnum. Instead of paying one player $30 million for that production, you get three.

Obviously, a Burns trade would have gone over a little easier with the fans had Scott Fitterer struck the deal with L.A. two years ago that would have netted two first-round picks. The bright side is Morgan at least found a way to land a second rounder from New York which helped recoup a second round pick in 2025 and gave the Panthers more a little more ammo to move up to select running back Jonathon Brooks.

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