Panthers’ breakup with star Brian Burns as sad as a country song

You know times are tough when even country music singers, who eat hardship and sorrow for breakfast, can't handle the despair and struggles that the Carolina Panthers are going through.

"@Panthers WHAT ARE WE DOING?!?!?" country singer Luke Combs wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday night. "No first round pick for McCaffrey a few years back and now none for Burns?!?! Are we just fire bombing the whole team here or what? I usually don't comment on these kinds of things but it's just becoming slow torture at this point."

The Panthers have certainly been through a lot: finishing with the worst record in the NFL at 2-15, firing a coach at midseason two years in a row, not having a first-round draft pick this year. Then on the first day of free-agency negotiations, Carolina parted ways with Pro Bowl pass-rusher Brian Burns — traded to the Giants for second- and fifth-round draft picks — and watched defensive standouts Frankie Luvu (Washington) and Yetur Gross-Matos (San Francisco) sign elsewhere.

We'll get to Carolina's signings in a bit, but Monday was a sad breakup song for the Panthers, losing another promising first-round pick and promising star in Burns. He had wanted a long-term contract for more than a year, playing on his fifth-year option last season, and when it seemed like the two sides would never work something out, the Panthers moved on, getting the No. 39 overall pick in next month's draft, as well as a fifth-rounder.

After the Panthers had traded away Christian McCaffrey and Robbie Chosen and DJ Moore, Burns was the one untouchable asset, coveted enough that Carolina reportedly turned down an offer from the Rams of two first-round picks and a second. Monday's offer wasn't nearly that, but it reflected a franchise moving on and starting a new chapter, however difficult that might be.

Carolina's defense had exactly three players get more than two sacks in 2023, and all three of them left Monday. What was the stronger side of the ball for the Panthers took a major hit, but it's understandable that top players with a choice in where they play would choose to move on. Gross-Matos got $18 million for two years with a Super Bowl team in the 49ers, and Luvu got $36 million for three years with Washington, which went 4-13 but appears to be in line for improvement this fall. The Giants, 6-11 a year ago, gave up two picks and did what Carolina couldn't, locking up Burns with a five-year, $141 million deal that makes him one of the highest-paid defensive players in league history.

Instead, the Panthers' new leadership — coach Dave Canales and general manager Dan Morgan — put their initial focus on improving the protection for quarterback Bryce Young, who struggled as a rookie last year. Upgrading their interior offensive line was a priority, and the Panthers spent a combined $153 million to land Dolphins guard Robert Hunt and Seahawks guard Damien Lewis.

Hunt, graded by Pro Football Focus as the NFL's No. 6 guard last season, got five years and $100 million, among the biggest contracts ever for a guard, and Lewis, who played for Canales and new offensive coordinator Brad Idzik for three years in Seattle, got four years and $53 million. The hope for Carolina is that a strong front of the pocket will make Young more comfortable as a passer, avoiding sacks and having time to throw downfield more successfully.

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And along those lines, Carolina will almost assuredly use one of its two high second-round picks — No. 33 and 39 — on a receiver who can give Young a reliable deep threat that the Panthers sorely lacked last season. This draft is loaded at receiver, such that even the seventh- or eighth-best prospect at the position (which might be what's there at 33) will be seen as an impact player. The Panthers now need to replace the three defensive players they lost in their defensive front, no easy task, but this was always going to be a difficult rebuild.

The Panthers still have cap space, and with Monday's two guards, can now continue the process of rebranding and finding the players who will help them create a new identity under Canales and Morgan.

Greg Auman is FOX Sports' NFC South reporter, covering the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He is in his 10th season covering the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having spent time at the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.