Panthers' Brian Burns is happy in Carolina: 'We definitely have ballers'

PHOENIX — Panthers defensive end Brian Burns is taking in Super Bowl week in Arizona in style, coming off a second Pro Bowl nod before he's even turned 25 years old.

He has a new coach in Frank Reich, a new defensive coordinator in Ejiro Evero, and coming off his first double-digit sack season, will make more this coming year — $16 million on a fifth-year option — than he did in his first four NFL seasons combined.

Burns was in Las Vegas at the Pro Bowl last week, so he hasn't had the chance to meet Reich, who takes over a 7-10 team with hopes of competing for a division title and more in 2023, or Evero, who will lead a promising young Panthers defense. Burns said he talked with Broncos corner Pat Surtain, who had Evero as his coordinator in Denver this past season, and was told he would love his new coach and his style of defense.

Carolina bounced back from a 2-7 start and stayed in contention to win the NFC South, finishing a single game behind the first-place Bucs, and Burns said while it was frustrating to finish so close and fall short, the Panthers also exceeded most expectations.

"It was very tough, but at the end of the day, nobody really believed in us to be in that spot," he said. "Since we were even close to getting there, it was an accomplishment, in a way."

The Panthers went 6-6 to finish the season, and the positive momentum of that finish will stick with returning players more than the disappointment of not taking the division title, he said. Burns reset his career high with 12.5 sacks after finishing with nine in each of the two previous seasons, and his tackles for loss have increased in each year during his time in Carolina — five as a rookie, eight in 2020, 13 in his first Pro Bowl season in 2021 and now 17 this past year. He also set career highs for total tackles (63) and quarterback hits (22).

Carolina's slow start this past season meant firing coach Matt Rhule after five games and trading away Pro Bowl running back Christian McCaffrey as well as receiver Robbie Anderson. Burns said it was encouraging to him that the Panthers saw him as one young part of their roster and their future that was off limits to other teams.

"That meant a lot — that let me know my security, let me know how much they believe in me," he said. "It means a lot when you have an organization and the whole building behind you."

On Thursday, Burns was in the Phoenix suburbs at a house rented out by Athletes First for shooting Super Bowl videos with FOX Sports. He was interviewed by Saints running back Mark Ingram, offering his insights on Sunday's showdown between the Eagles and Chiefs.

Looking at a wall of books in the interview area, Burns could not help but notice a mini-figurine of Spider-Man — his favorite comic-book character and nickname, and a coincidental reminder of the incredible athleticism packed into his 6-foot-5, 250-pound frame.

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Burns is under contract for the upcoming season but could certainly sign a long-term extension with the Panthers now to keep him with the team that drafted him for the foreseeable future. Whether that happens this offseason, or whether the two sides let the contract play out and work on an extension a year from now, Burns said he isn't thinking much about free agency yet.

"This is my first rodeo about deals and extensions and stuff like that, so I don't know," he said. "So far, we haven't been talking about anything, but I don't know how to go about that process yet. I let it be known when they turned down picks that I was happy and excited that they didn't trade me."

Carolina has the No. 9 pick in the upcoming draft, as well as extra draft picks from McCaffrey and other trades. With a new coaching staff being put in place, there's optimism about better days ahead for the Panthers. Reich said that starts with a young defense that includes Burns, defensive tackle Derrick Brown, linebacker Frankie Luvu and corner Jaycee Horn. Burns takes pride in that.

"We definitely have ballers on the defense," he said. "I feel like we still haven't scratched the surface of what we can do yet, but I feel like a lot of guys took a lot of huge leaps — Derrick Brown, Frankie Luvu and Jaycee obviously. We have a strong nucleus."

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.

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