KSpan

I like Burns - he is a very, very good pass rusher. Carolina could sink (and has sunk) crazy money into way worse players, and it's still possible that Burns takes an even bigger leap. However, that was a crazy trade package they turned down and I definitely don't understand the contract management strategy.

It really doesn't matter now since Burns has all the leverage and Carolian already showed their hand. They screwed themselves and/or Burns played his strengthened hand when they declined the trade and didn't get a contract done. And IMO they didn't really overpay for CJ, or at least not much. He was a more complete player than Burns and was still a high-quality pass rusher for the first 3+ years of the contract, with that Patriot leg-whip seeming to be a turning point. That's my issue - they are going to overpay Burns for being a less complete player and screwed the pooch by not getting it done sooner if the intent all along was to keep him. Again though, it is what it is at this point. Burns is here, he's going to eat a ton of salary cap, and I hope he shows up like he hasn't done before by becoming a more complete player, actually making big plays at opportune/big times, or both. I'm also not sure why you're expecting so many more sacks since he'll still be playing the 4-3 end role most of the time in the nickel/dime packages unless they go primarily with a 3-3-5, which I doubt based on the DL roster. Hope that's the case though.

I don't know how to be any clearer on this situational difference. When CJ was re-signed, it was after the season and his contract was done. He was entirely free and clear, zero more games to play under a Carolina contract and could have signed with anyone. They had already franchise-tagged Ryan Kalil, so that wasn't an option with CJ. He had also just really emerged in 2010 so it was a risk, but it explained why they didn't offer him big money in-season like they're now negotiating with Burns. Burns is under contract for this current season. He has 17 more games to play for Carolina under the current contract. His contract is not fulfilled until this coming February. He has also been on the re-signing radar for years, unlike CJ, and they are just now dealing with it.

Yes, he does - Burns has this year. CJ had played out all 4 seasons of his full rookie contract and was headed for free agency when he was re-signed. That is a vital difference.

To be clear, you're saying Tepper has done a great job? You have to be kidding. Maybe this was the start of a turnaround but dude has been abysmal deicison after utter failure after stupid mistake ever since he got here.

Burns is not set to be an FA, he has another year on his contract - CJ's contract had expired and he was going to a free agent with strong family/personal ties to Georgia, wit the Falcons known to be actively targeting himactively pursuing him. He was also one of, if not the, premiere pass rusher in that FA class. I'm not arguing that Burns shouldn't be re-signed and agree with your position overall, but they already screwed up by not getting it done last year and compounded it by turning down that windfall trade before getting the deal done, driving the price at least somewhat up. Only thing to do now is wait and see how it all shakes out.

'Best' is relative and discussing observations is not 'hate'. At this point 'hater' is just a dumb, overused term. CJ was a different situation since he was set to be an FA and Atlanta was desperate for a pass-rusher. The stars (and crappy Hurney structuring) aligned for that CJ contract but while he was a tier below Burns in pass rush effectiveness, he was a more complete player overall because he was stout in the run game. There were far worse contracts out there.

That ship has sailed. If they didn't trade him for the Rams deal last year, it isn't happening this year.

Except unless they're running a 3-3-5 nickel or something like that, which seems unlikely, majority of the time he'll be playing the same sub-package end position he's been in his whole career.

It's about more than just sacks and tackles though - total impact comes into play. When was the last time that Burns made a citical play at a critical time? A recent example from Bosa: "Bosa registered pressures on three straight dropbacks inside the 49ers' own five-yard line, capped off with this sack of Andy Dalton on 4th & goal that effectively iced this game for the 49ers and secured their only shutout of the season. Bosa uses a scissor swipe to beat the left tackle and win the edge, bringing down Dalton and any hopes the Saints had of pulling off a miraculous comeback in this game" https://www.ninersnation.com/2023/1/10/23547791/49ers-bosa-2022-sacks I just don't recall seeing Burns make splash plays at game-turning moments.

Amen. It's about the potential to spread or even amplify/multiply the value of a single player. It's not the right move for every situation but it is a very reasonable one for a lot of situatiions.

I think it's the player's prerogative, particularly when it comes to rookie contracts that are slotted and that a player can potentially outperform. If a team can decide that someone is overpaid and cut them, why can't they decide they're underpaid and try their won tactic? That said, it applies most clearly when someone's perfomrance is consistently on a tier or two above their current contract. If they signed a top-end deal and are griping about it in 2 years, I feel that that is a different story.

That was pretty funny.

But by not trading, he now has more leverage in knowing that Carolina views him as essential, if he didn't already. It was neutral at best but it absolutely could have reduced the potential to compromise, if not nudged a number up, given the clear roster-specific valuation.

My point is that cap increases are a non-factor when weighing potential contract value. It provides neither an advantage nor disadvantage, but can handicap a team if they structure contracts requiring significant cap increases that may or may not happen.

No one forgets that - everybody else just gets more expensive too, making it an irrelevant point. Setting deals in anticipation of salary cap increases that mag or may not happen should not be a primary strategy.

Dresser Winn is clearly the best option there. Name says it all.

No, that was Jonathan Stewart. Dude just didn't fall down.

It was 2 firsts and Pick 36 this year, so not accurate but pretty darn close.

My thoughts exactly - too much BO, not enough DBO.

Thin is certainly one way to describe it.

Bravvion's gonna be a Ravvion.

And not a DL among them. Interesting.

Hurney kept him on the 53 at the start as well - he was actually rostered until week 2.

Amen. Evero did good work with the quality starting material that was there and had been running the same base scheme for years. Carolina is a different situation.