Luke Combs Is Fed Up With the Carolina Panthers
Michael King Luke Combs has just about had it with Carolina Panthers, and he is letting the world know it.
As the NFL calendar turned to the new year this week, the Carolina Panthers, Combs' favorite team, traded defensive end Brian Burns to the New York Giants. The 25-year-old pass rusher was set to become a free agent before the Panthers hit him with a franchise tag on March 5, effectively taking him off the market.
The Giants and Panthers struck a deal that sent Burns to New York, where he signed a reported five year contract worth up to 150 million dollars, making him the four highest-paid defender based on yearly averages.
The sore spot for Panthers fans was the return, as Carolina picked up the 39th and the 141st picks in the upcoming 2024 NFL draft, which is set to take place in April.
During the 2022 NFL season, the Panthers turned down a trade offer from the Los Angeles Rams for Burns that would have netted Carolina first round picks in 2024, 2025 and a second-round selection in the 2025 draft.
The obvious step down in trade compensation had many Panther fans fuming on social media, including Combs. When the deal was announced, Combs had seen enough.
Combs also highlights the fact that the Panthers had running back Christian McCaffery and dealt him to the San Francisco 49ers for a 2023 second, third and fourth round picks, plus a fifth in the 2024 draft.
McCaffery has continued to be one of the NFL’s best players — he was just named the 2023 NFL Offensive Player of the Year, piling up more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 21 TDs.
It doesn’t get any better for Combs and the Panthers — their first round pick in this draft is the first overall selection — but belongs to the Chicago Bears as a part of the Bryce Young trade last year.
So yeah, when it rains it pours, Luke.
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