Brian Burns to the Giants

Compensation, salary cap details for Panthers' trade of Brian Burns (msn.com)


So, what will a 25-year-old two-time Pro Bowl pass rusher looking for a new contract get you nowadays? Well, for the Carolina Panthers, it'll get you a lot less than what you could've had about 16 months ago.

On Monday, the Panthers bit the bullet and traded outside linebacker Brian Burns to the New York Giants. Being that Carolina wasn't willing to meet the standout defender on his price, they found a team who did—and got the following in return:

2024 second-round pick (39th overall)
2025 fifth-round pick
The two sides also included a pick swap of 2024 fifth-rounders. Carolina is getting the 141st overall selection and sending New York the 166th overall selection.

That, obviously, is a far cry from what the Panthers were offered for Burns during the 2022 campaign. Multiple reports have suggested that the Los Angeles Rams were prepared to part with two first-rounders and a second-rounder for the then-fourth-year backer.
Unfortunately, yesterday's price is not today's price.

In a less direct detail of the trade, the Panthers cleared out a smidgeon over $24 million in salary cap space—the amount Burns was slated to receive on the franchise tag in 2024.

And the Carolina Panthers article:

CHARLOTTE — The Panthers want to build a stable foundation for the long haul, and sometimes that means making tough choices.

According to multiple published reports, including from the NFL Network, the team traded pass-rusher Brian Burns to the New York Giants on Monday for two draft picks, including this year's second-rounder and a 2025 fifth-rounder.

The deal cannot be officially completed until Wednesday at 4 p.m., the start of the new league year.

The team had placed the franchise tag on Burns earlier this month and discussed a possible contract extension with his representatives at the combine. But those didn't lead to a deal, harkening back to last summer's efforts to secure him long-term.

With the addition of the Giants picks, the Panthers now have seven overall selections in this year's draft, including the 33rd and 39th overall picks in a draft deep at several positions of need.

They also add another $24 million in cap space when Burns' tag value comes out the equation, which will be helpful in adding defensive reinforcements. Also Monday, there were reports that linebacker Frankie Luvu agreed to a deal with Washington.

Burns, the team's 2019 first-rounder, had 46.0 sacks in five seasons and went to two Pro Bowls.

https://www.panthers.com/news/reports-br...raft-picks

Let’s be honest, he was gonna walk in free agency. We tagged him to keep that from happening, what we basically did wasn’t trade him away, it was get compensation for a player who was going to leave anyway. Smart choice. Sure, we didn’t get a first rounder, that sucks, but it’s better than letting him walk overall and getting nothing at all. He wouldn’t have signed the tag. All reports stated he wanted top 5 pay, but he just wasn’t that here. Yeah, we have a massive pass rusher hole to fill now, but we had that anyway.