Brian Burns explains his decision not to hold out despite not having a long-term deal

Brian Burns remains without a deal beyond 2023, but he elected to take part in training camp, unlike a number of other high-profile players seeking new contracts. The Panthers edge rusher recently spoke about his willingness to decide against holding out and his desire to finalize an extension.

“No fault to anybody who is not participating,” Burns said, via ESPN’s David Newton. “But we’ve got something special, and I’m a big part of it, so I can’t miss no time. I’ve just got to be here.”

Burns has long been on the extension radar, and at least one offer has been made. Newton reports that negotiations remained ongoing during practice last week, and Burns added that he remains “hopeful” an agreement can be reached before the season starts. He is due $16M in 2023 while being tied to the fifth-year option, but a significant raise will be required to hammer out a multi-year deal.

The Florida State product posted a career-high 12.5 sacks last season and he is in position to continue leading the Panthers’ edge rush group. A shift to a 3-4 scheme could help Burns continue his career ascent as a sack artist while masking his relative deficiencies as a run defender. A long-term commitment confirming his status as a franchise cornerstone was implied when Carolina turned down a Rams trade offer that included two first-round picks and again when they did not include him in the package sent to the Bears for the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft.

Burns, 25, is likely to garner a deal placing him at least in the top 10 amongst pass-rushers. That would require an AAV of no less than $20M, but a figure closer to Myles Garrett‘s $25M or Joey Bosa‘s $27M could be in play (especially if Nick Bosa‘s 49ers holdout produces a monster extension to reset the market). Given the lucrative nature of Burns’ next contract, it was perhaps unsurprising that the latest report on his situation indicated significant progress still needed to be made regarding extension talks.

Nevertheless, Burns reiterated his desire to remain in Carolina for the foreseeable future via a long-term deal, something which would go a long way in helping the team’s chances of competing in a wide-open NFC South. Negotiations could continue into the regular season, which would give team and player extra time to come to an agreement.

“We’ve got a lot of things I want to accomplish, a lot of goals, and God-willing we’ll reach those goals,” Burns added. “But I’ve got to be here.”