Panthers star Brian Burns had a ‘personal matter’ Thursday. Was it contract-related?

Brian Burns, the Carolina Panthers’ edge rusher commonly thought of as the team’s best player, caused a bit of a stir Thursday when he missed part of the day’s work during the team’s last full practice of the week.

Panthers coach Frank Reich said Burns’ partial absence was a “personal matter.”

Then Reich was asked in his daily press briefing whether Burns’ absence was “contract-related,” but the coach veered around the question.

“I’ll just refer that to Brian,” Reich said. “I mean, it’s impossible for me to have more respect than I do for Brian. So, you know, it’s his personal matter. And anyway, secondly, as a matter of policy, that’s not my role to talk about contracts, even if that’s what it was.”

Burns has been seeking a new contract extension but hasn’t missed any time throughout training camp. Unlike other high-profile holdouts or “hold-ins” around the NFL, Burns has said repeatedly that as a key part of the team, he felt obligated to be present throughout training camp and the preseason (although he didn’t play a snap in any of the three preseason games).

So, his partial absence on Thursday was a bit mysterious. But teammates said Burns had been involved in team meetings Thursday and had also been at practice for at least part of the session, although he didn’t participate in the portion of the workout when the media was allowed to be present. He also wasn’t around for interviews during the team’s open locker room period.

Burns has played four seasons with the Panthers, racking up 38 sacks and seven forced fumbles and making the past two Pro Bowls. In 2022, he was the Panthers’ lone Pro Bowl representative and posted a career-high 12.5 sacks. Despite the lack of clarity Thursday, no one inside the Panther locker room seemed overly concerned that Burns would miss the team’s season opener at Atlanta on Sept. 10.

Only 25 years old, Burns is at the peak of his marketability and will likely be in line for a multi-year contract averaging around or above $25 million a year for the Panthers with at least $50 million of guaranteed money (In a “Hard Knocks” episode, New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers told Burns he deserved an extension). General manager Scott Fitterer has said numerous times he doesn’t want to lose Burns to another team. Burns is making $16 million this season due to the Panthers picking up his fifth-year option.

According to overthecap.com, the NFL’s highest-paid edge rusher at the moment is T.J. Watt, who has an average salary of $28 million a year. Joey Bosa and Myles Garrett both have more guaranteed money in their deal, however, at around $100 million. Eight edge rushers currently average at least $20 million a year.

San Francisco’s Nick Bosa, in the midst of a contract holdout, is likely to surpass Watt as the NFL’s highest-paid edge rusher when and if his new deal gets done, with a likely average salary of $30 million or more. Bosa was in Burns’ draft class and is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, and a new deal for him could impact where Burns’ hypothetical new contract ends up.