Rams could execute sign-and-trade to acquire a long-time target

Close to the trade deadline in 2022, the Los Angeles Rams showed how aggressive they can be when they really like a player. Even in a down year, the team offered two first-round picks for Carolina Panthers' edge rusher Brian Burns. That would have been a big move, but the Panthers weren't willing to go […]

Wendell Ferreira — NFL News Writer
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Brian Burns
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Close to the trade deadline in 2022, the Los Angeles Rams showed how aggressive they can be when they really like a player. Even in a down year, the team offered two first-round picks for Carolina Panthers' edge rusher Brian Burns.

That would have been a big move, but the Panthers weren't willing to go that route — maybe because they expected to extend Burns, or maybe because the Rams didn't have their 2023 first-rounder, which was going to the Detroit Lions, and the picks sent to Carolina would have been in 2024 and 2025.

Either way, the situation got complicated. The Panthers and Brian Burns haven't found a common ground for a new deal, and he's slated to be a free agent in March. According to ESPN's senior NFL national reporter Jeremy Fowler, though, the franchise tag "seems like a formality", because the Panthers won't allow Burns to walk for free.

Chances

The Rams are also in a different spot, but that doesn't mean they can't be aggressive again. After a reset year in 2023, the team's cap situation is healthier, and they finally entered a year in which they own their first-rounder — the last time the Rams picked a player in the first round was in 2016, when the team drafted quarterback Jared Goff. So could Los Angeles pull off a big move?

According to Fowler, a tag-and-trade scenario could be in play.

"They should spend adequate resources to support a very young defense with the right players. L.A. once tried to trade for pass-rusher Brian Burns, who will likely be franchise-tagged by Carolina. A sign-and-trade might be just what general manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay need."

There are two scenarios for franchise tagged players to change teams. The first is the conventional one, when a franchise gives the player an offer sheet. The original team has the option to match the offer, or accept two first-round picks as compensation.

The other, and more realistic way to do it in this case, is a tag-and-trade scenario. The Panthers would apply the franchise tag, and then the parties would negotiate a normal trade — probably for less than two first-rounders. Then, the Rams would immediately give Burns a long-term extension. This happened, for example, when the Green Bay Packers traded Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022 for first- and second-round picks.

Brian Burns has played five seasons in the NFL after being selected by the Carolina Panthers in the 2019 first-round. He's had 46 sacks in the league, including eight last season. In 2023, Burns had a 74.1 PFF defensive grade, including a 75.2 pass rush grade — it was his second best season in the NFL, after 2020.

Rams' roster

Last year, the Rams had the least expensive personnel in football — and that's including defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who's the second highest-paid defensive player in NFL history, after Nick Bosa. The Rams' edge options are Byron Young, Nick Hampton, Keir Thomas, and Ochaun Mathis. The team also signed Zach VanValkenburg to a futures deal. Michael Hoecht is slated to be a restricted free agent.

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