NFL insider: Brian Burns could be tag-and-trade candidate this offseason

With no new deal in sight for their two-time Pro Bowl pass rusher, the Carolina Panthers seem likely to slap the franchise tag on Brian Burns. But that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll still be around for the next snap the team takes.

Sports Illustrated senior NFL reporter Albert Breer emptied out his first mailbag of the offseason on Wednesday. When asked which players are likely to receive the franchise tag, he responded with the following:

. . . I’d say [Tee] Higgins and Burns could be tag-to-trade candidates. In Burns’s case, it’s because he and the Panthers haven’t been close on a long-term agreement over the last couple years. In Higgins’s case, it’s because the Bengals have a bigger deal for Ja’Marr Chase on the horizon.

If the Panthers tag Burns, he’ll be on a one-year, $21.9 million deal—the current going for linebackers. From there, the organization would have until July 15 to extend Burns or, as Breer opines, they can opt to trade him.

(Or maybe they do neither and the situation gets even more awkward.)

As far as the first step goes, teams have until March 5 to administer their tags.