Panthers Adding Jadeveon Clowney Another Piece In Six-For-One Trade Of Brian Burns
What the Carolina Panthers have done in agreeing to sign Jadeveon Clowney looks much different from a distance than it does under careful scrutiny up close.
The view from 30,000 feet is the Panthers needed a pass rusher to replace Brian Burns and Clowney is that guy now. The club just lost a player that contributed 8 sacks last season and is bringing in one that collected 9.5 sacks last season for the Baltimore Ravens.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - NOVEMBER 05: Jadeveon Clowney #24 of the Baltimore Ravens reacts after a play against the Seattle Seahawks during the second quarter at M&T Bank Stadium on November 05, 2023 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
Clowney Add Smart For Panthers
But what if I told you what Panthers general manager Dan Morgan has actually done so far this offseason is replacing one starter off a defense that finished 29th in the NFL in points allowed last season – a pretty awful 24.5 points per game – with six new starters and two draft picks?
Morgan obviously hopes those six new defensive starters will comprise a better defense.
And it would be amazing because the six new starters will cost roughly the same as what Burns was costing on the salary cap in 2024.
What follows here is not a takedown of Brian Burns. He's outstanding. He's young. He is a budding star who is likely going to blossom in the limelight of New York media attention.
That's the point for the Panthers: He is now with the New York Giants, having been traded on March 11 for what is effectively a second-round pick this year and a conditional fifth-rounder in 202S.
But aside from the two picks the Panthers got in the deal, they also collected $24 million in salary cap relief. The Panthers, you see, had placed the franchise tag on Burns and that was costing them that whopping $24 million fully guaranteed on their cap.
CHARLOTTE, NC - AUGUST 24: Dan Morgah #55 of the Carolina Panthers watches on from the sidelines before the start of their preseason game against the Miami Dolphins at Bank of America Stadium on August 24, 2006 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Dan Morgan Goes To Work
The trade with New York changed that for the Panthers. Yes, it cost them a 25-year-old player with still untapped potential. Yes, it cost them a pass rusher who delivered those 8 sacks last season.
But the high cost of keeping that dynamic player also left the building in that trade.
And the Panthers have used the windfall to rebuild their defense.
Understand that if the Panthers keep Burns, they cannot sign Clowney. Don't smirk.
The Ravens defense, per the NFL's Next Gen stats, generated a 6.9 percent higher QB pressure rate with Clowney on the field last season, despite blitzing on 10.7 percent fewer dropbacks.
Clowney last season generated 71 pressures, 29 more than any defender on the Panthers.
And that's not all because if they keep Burns, the Panthers cannot sign outside linebacker D.J. Wonnum, who had eight sacks for the Vikings last season.
They also cannot sign inside linebacker Josey Jewell, who forced four fumbles, collected five sacks, nine quarterback hits and made 230-odd tackles for Denver the past two seasons.
The Panthers could not have signed cornerback Dane Jackson and safety Jordan Fuller, and defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson.
They might have been able to make one of those moves while keeping Burns. But not all of those moves.
And, look, the Panthers needed to make all those moves. Maybe more, which could be coming with those extra picks in the draft.
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - SEPTEMBER 12: Brian Burns #53 of the Carolina Panthers celebrates his sack in the second quarter during their game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Bank of America Stadium on September 12, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
It Was Burns Or A New Defense
Because, again, the Panthers defense was no bueno in 2023. The team had the worst record in the NFL. That all came with Burns and his excellence and promise and great motor on the club.
So it was either keep an outstanding player or add half-a-dozen starters.
You should know that Clowney's contract has not been officially signed yet. He agreed to a reported two-years and $20 million. Because his official numbers are not known, his salary cap cost for 2024 also is not known.
But the Panthers have so far used $16.5 million in cap costs on the other five starters they've added so far.
It's not a stretch to believe new executive vice president and club salary cap guru Brandt Tilis could find a way to get Clowney's new deal on the cap for less than the roughly $7.5 million in cap cost it would take to fill the gap between $16.5 million and $24 million.
So, again, six defensive starters for $24 million?
Or Brian Burns for $24 million?
"We love Brian. The player he is, the person he is," Morgan told reporters during the NFL meetings this week. "But sometimes you’ve got to make tough decisions, and the salary cap along with draft capital that we got, we felt like it was, you know, time to pull the trigger and make a move.
"We felt like the timing was right. And yeah, those are always tough decisions, but we had to make it, and we feel OK about it."
Rightfully so.