Cases For, Against Patriots Pursuing Brian Burns In Free Agency

The New England Patriots enter the offseason with plenty of holes to fill around the roster.

Luckily for New England, the team has plenty of cap space and a prime draft pick to help rebuild the roster.

Head coach Jerod Mayo made it clear that the Patriots would be ready to spend. While most of that needs to go to adding talent on offense, could New England make an addition to a capable defense?

While the Patriots had several issues during a 4-13 season, the defense played tight down the stretch and kept New England in games, regardless of the end result. An addition the team could pursue could come in the pass rush.

Carolina Panthers edge rusher Brian Burns is at the end of his rookie contract after making a pair of Pro Bowls in his first five seasons in the NFL.

Does he make sense for the Patriots?

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THE CASE FOR
Burns has produced at a high level since the Panthers selected him in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

In his four seasons as a consistent starter, Burns has been good for at least 50 tackles and eight sacks off the edge per season. While the Panthers have struggled around him, Burns has evolved into one of the best at his position with recognition around the NFL. At six-foot-five and 250 pounds, Burns has the size and dynamic abilities to take over as a playmaker on the edge.

With the chance of Josh Uche leaving in free agency, Burns offers a fantastic pass-rush partner for Matthew Judon on each side of the line.

THE CASE AGAINST
Carolina paid Burns over $16 million when the franchise exercised his fifth-year option for the 2023 season.

That sets up the edge rusher to go seek a rather lucrative deal in free agency. While that’s not outrageous for a premier edge rusher (Matthew Judon’s 2021 deal averaged $14 million per year), the Patriots have too many needs to commit nearly 20% of their remaining cap space to Burns, obviously with the chance that New England could frontload the deal.

While the Patriots could always improve their defense to combat elite AFC offenses, New England needs most of its resources to add talent to its own offense to compete moving forward.

Burns also had a spat with the Patriots during the 2021 season when he accused then-rookie quarterback Mac Jones of a dirty play when he had his ankle tied up on a turnover. In all seriousness, that may not matter three years later along with the growing possibility that Jones could be on his way out of New England.

THE VERDICT
Given Burns’ likely asking price and bigger needs for the Patriots around the roster, a move for the Pro Bowler will not make enough sense to sign the 25-year-old.