Dave Canales won't start his head-coaching tenure in Carolina by losing a star pass rusher.
The Panthers have placed the franchise tag on linebacker Brian Burns, ¹ú²ú̽»¨Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Tuesday, the deadline for teams to use a tag. Carolina has since announced the news.
Burns' one-year tag will cost $24.007 million, a steep price to prevent the two-time Pro Bowler from testing greener pastures in free agency.
Carolina and Burns now have until mid-July to either come to a long-term agreement or potentially settle on a modified one-year deal, as running backs Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs did last offseason.
Otherwise, Burns will play 2024 under the shadow of the tag -- assuming he signs it.
Last preseason, Burns initially showed up to training camp and participated despite favoring security over going into the campaign on his fifth-year rookie option with no buffer behind it. He later attempted to flex his leverage by sitting out a string of practices as the calendar turned to September and remaining non-committal on suiting up for the regular-season opener.
Cooler heads did prevail, albeit in the absence of an extension, which has necessitated Carolina to slap another Band-Aid on the situation in the form of a one-year solution.
The Panthers were ripped through on defense last season on the way to allowing the 29th-most points in the NFL, but even if he didn't reach the same heights as years past, Burns was far from culpable.
He led the unit in sacks for a second straight year with 8.0 and added 18 quarterback hits, 16 tackles for loss, two passes defensed and a forced fumble.
Entering his age-26 season, Burns now has 46 sacks in his career. He's also proven durable, never missing more than a game in any of his five years of ¹ú²ú̽»¨experience.
That doesn't mean his playing on the tag comes without risk. Injury can obviously strike at any time, and Burns has now been hoping for extra security in the lead-up to two seasons.
He remains a Panther on a pricy franchise tag for now.
