Getty A proposed trade would have the Baltimore Ravens David Ojabo and picks to Carolina for Brian Burns
The Baltimore Ravens will be heading into the offseason with a bad taste in their mouth following an AFC Championship game loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
It’s an offseason that is likely to be filled with change for the Ravens.
They have a lot of talent that can test the free agent market and they also have coaches that are getting a lot of interest from other teams.
However, not all of the change that comes during the offseason has to be bad for the Ravens.
Bleacher Report’s NFL Scouting Department proposed a trade that could cheer Ravens fans up a bit.
The trade would see the Ravens send their first-round pick in 2024, their third-rounder in 2025 and David Ojabo to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for two-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Brian Burns.
Burns has reached the end of his contract with the Panthers, but B/R’s team believes Carolina could franchise tag him and trade him.
It certainly wouldn’t be a cheap move for the Ravens, but another premium piece on defense could be just what they need to get back into Super Bowl contention in 2024.
Brian Burns: Consistently Good on a Bad Team
Burns has impressed since he first entered the NFL back in 2019.
He had 7.5 sacks and a 56-yard fumble recovery touchdown as a rookie. He followed that up with 9 sacks in each of the following two seasons, earning a Pro Bowl nod in the second of those years.
In his fourth year, he earned his second Pro Bowl appearance with 12.5 sacks and 63 total tackles.
His most recent season saw his sack total come back down to eight, but he remained a player opposing offenses consistently need to worry about.
Unfortunately, Burns’ impressive play hasn’t helped the Panthers win many football games.
The seven they won in 2022 was the most in a season during Burns’ career. This past season, they won just two.
That leaves them in a spot where it may be time to consider trying to turn what talent they have into draft assets as they aren’t close to contending right now and contenders would pay up for that talent.
If the Panthers decide to move on from Burns while his value is still high, they could get a nice return from a Ravens team that could have some holes to fill on defense during the offseason.
A Lot of Production for Ravens to Potentially Replace
The 2023 Ravens pass rush got a lot of production from players who might not be on the roster in 2024.
Justin Madubuike led the team with 13 sacks on his way to an All-Pro nod in the final year of his rookie contract.
Jadeveon Clowney was second on the team with 9.5 sacks. He played 2023 on a one-year deal.
Kyle Van Noy was also only signed for one season and finished third on the team with 9 sacks.
Patrick Queen had 3.5 from his spot at inside linebacker. Brent Urban got to the QB three times.
Arthur Maulet got a couple at corner and two other impending free agents each had one.
That means the majority of the team’s league-leading 60 sacks came from players who could leave the team during the offseason.
Some of those players will probably be brought back, but it would be very difficult for the Ravens to hold onto all of that production, especially with Madubuike and Queen due for big raises.
Maybe a trade for Burns could be their way to replace the production they’ll lose during the offseason.