The Detroit Lions logged a grand total of 41 sacks this past season, putting them in the bottom third of the NFL in terms of getting to the quarterback.
For a team trying to contend for a Super Bowl, that’s not great.
Luckily, the Lions have plenty of cap room to play with this offseason, meaning they can afford to spend big on a pass rusher to assist Aidan Hutchinson in their defensive front.
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox thinks Detroit could end up taking a huge swing on Carolina Panthers edge rusher Brian Burns.
Burns is getting set to become a free agent next week and will become one of the top defensive players available if he does.
Of course, whether or not he actually hits the open market remains to be seen, as the general expectation is that the Panthers will slap a franchise tag on him.
Now, that does not necessarily means that Burns will be in Carolina in 2024.
The Panthers could tag Burns and then turn around and trade him, which could be a possibility seeing as how the two sides recently ended contract negotiations.
If and when Carolina does place a tag on Burns, it will have until the middle of July to reach a long-term deal with the two-time Pro Bowler, but both parties seem to be rather far apart in talks.
That could ultimately spell the end of Burns’ tenure with the Panthers, which could open the door for a team like the Lions to make a play for him.
Burns played in 16 games this past season, registering 50 tackles and eight sacks. He made back-to-back Pro Bowl appearances in 2021 and 2022, with this best campaign coming in the latter year when he racked up 63 tackles and 12.5 sacks.
The Florida State product is still just 25 years old and will have a long list of suitors this offseason. We’ll see if Detroit makes attempting to acquire Burns a priority.