Brian Burns ruled out of Thursday Night Football matchup vs. Chicago Bears
The Carolina Panthers will be without their biggest impact player on the defensive side of the ball this Thursday in their matchup versus the Chicago Bears, as head coach Frank Reich announced Tuesday that outside linebacker Brian Burns has been ruled out for the game.
Burns left the Panthers’ last game versus the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday early after suffering a concussion following a hard collision. And given Carolina’s quick turnaround on a short week paired with the NFL concussion protocol, Burns playing in Thursday’s game was seemingly inevitable.
“He’s our best player. He’s a beast. We’ll miss him, but it’s next man up,” Reich said Monday. “I’m not thinking there’s any chance of getting him, honestly. Even if there were, there’s a part of me that can’t imagine letting him out there even if he wanted to go out there. It’ll be next man up. We move on.”
It’s been an injury-riddled season for the Panthers’ defense as a whole, but more specifically the outside linebacker position where players like Yetur Gross-Matos, Justin Houston, and Marquis Haynes Sr. have missed time this season and Luiji Vilain leaving Sunday’s game with an injury as well like Burns.
Burns has led the Panthers in sacks through eight games season with five, passing Kevin Greene this year to now rank fifth all-time in franchise history in sacks. He’s led the Panthers in sacks in all but two seasons since joining the team, selected No. 16 overall by Carolina in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Florida State.
He’s fresh off of his best year yet ending the 2022 season with 63 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, and 22 QB hits, all representing career highs for Burns.
The Panthers’ defense has already struggled this season, and will likely struggle more as their depth at the outside linebacker position continues to be tested. Carolina has one of the league’s best defenses in terms of yards allowed per game, ranking eighth in the NFL. But when it comes to points allowed, not so much, as they are tied with the Denver Broncos giving up the most points per game across the entire league this season.
Carolina is yet to win a road game this season, with their lone victory coming two weeks ago at home versus the Houston Texans, as they’ll look to secure their first of the season on Thursday at Solider Field without their biggest defensive difference maker.