Brian Barnes is still a member of the Carolina Panthers. That’s the only good news for fans regarding the team’s franchise pass rusher.This week’s Carolina Added non-exclusive franchise tag to Burnswhich would keep him in the organization for at least another year while the two teams are still trying to reach an agreement on a long-term contract.
Barnes was reportedly looking for a long-term contract worth around $30 million annually, but his cap hit for this season is $24 million. It always happens with potential free agents that teams can’t see eye-to-eye, but it’s quite surprising how it happened. The team had seen Barnes as an integral part of its future plans, but now he’s negotiating for more than $5 million a year as the salary cap balloons and players get raises easier than ever.
Barnes’ mishandling is worth digging deeper into. Because if he’s gone from Carolina in 2025, he’ll be an example of how not to deal with a star player.
How good is Brian Burns?
It would be easy for Barnes to sleep in as a pass rusher, as he plays for one of the worst teams in the NFL. The 25-year-old was selected with the 16th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft and has been a force since entering the league. Not only is Barnes a highly productive pass rusher, but his ability to create his own opportunities makes him a rare asset.
If you look at the film on Barnes, he rarely benefits from a press release or simply the opportunity to be cut from the team. Despite his lithe 250-pound frame, he was able to hold his own well within the team’s 4-3 defense, spending four years at a position not best suited to his skill set. He recorded 38 sacks.
As he adjusted to a new defensive system in 2023, Barnes took a slight step back in transition to the edge at 3-4, but improved throughout the season, finishing with 50 tackles, 8.0 sacks, and 1 forced fumble. .
As a pass rusher, he’s a Swiss Army knife, able to register sacks, stop runners before big plays develop, and cover opposing tight ends well thanks to his fluidity in his hips and speed off the edge. I can.
A trade that never existed
Barnes made headlines during the 2022 NFL trade deadline when Carolina appeared to be in the middle of a fire sale. Christian McCaffrey just left for the 49ers, everyone on the roster is more or less available, and the Rams are reportedly hotly pursuing Barnes, viewing him as the missing piece on defense.
The trade offer was huge. Los Angeles was willing to give Carolina a 2024 first-round pick, a 2025 first-round pick and a 2025 second-round pick in exchange for the pass rusher. The Panthers infamously turned down a contract for Barnes, saying he was too important to their future plans.
On some level that’s understandable. The Rams thought they would be a team that would make the playoffs and draft higher in the coming years, but the Panthers weren’t sure they’d be able to find a pass rusher of Barnes’ caliber, and at the same time, they weren’t sure they’d ever find him. I didn’t like it. Coverage until 2024. This line of thinking is fine, but only if you actually live up to the idea that Mr. Burns is truly the victim. teeth Very important to the organization.
As 2024 approaches, the impact of non-trade influences becomes clearer, regardless of Burns’ status. The Rams will select No. 19 in the 2024 NFL Draft. In JP Acosta’s latest mock, Los Angeles selects edge rusher Laiatu Latu out of UCLA at No. 19. Barnes is a player that will definitely get the Panthers’ attention if they trade him.
Considering this year’s second-round pick and a 2025 first-round pick that could be in the final stages of effectiveness for Matthew Stafford, not moving Barnes is a decisive move in Carolina’s history. It will be a great moment.
So what’s happening now?
The Panthers placed the same non-exclusive franchise tag on Barnes as the Ravens did on Lamar Jackson a year ago. This would allow the team to negotiate with Barnes, potentially sign him to an offer sheet, and if the Panthers don’t match, they could receive two first-round picks in return.
It’s unclear whether anyone will take advantage of this. The Rams certainly have the cap space available to pull the trigger and essentially get a discount on their trade offer starting in 2022, but the key difference is that they won’t be signing Barnes to an extension this time around. That means they need to sign Barnes. He is on a rookie contract.
Another team to watch would be the Texans. The Texans have more cap space than they know what to do with and could use another proven pass rusher against more youth in the organization. Needless to say, the combination of Barnes and Will Anderson is incredible to watch and will taint opposing offenses themselves.
This all assumes someone makes an offer. If not, Barnes will play in 2024 and teams will continue to make low offers for him until 2025, when even the franchise tag won’t save him. Pass-rushing salaries are only going to increase, and the $30 million per player Barnes is currently asking for could move significantly further.
For Carolina, it’s put up or shut up. Brian Burns is important to the team as you said, so either they pay him, or they decide he’s expendable and try to trade him before or after the draft. The only bad move right now is to do nothing, and that’s exactly what the Panthers did to get into this mess.
Brian Barnes is a great player and deserves to be treated better than the Panthers are treating him. Someone will see it one way or another.
