Burns Makes Plans for the 2023 Season Clear: 'I'm Playing'
Coming into the day, there was a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the availability of Carolina Panthers outside linebacker Brian Burns. The coaches prepared as if he would play and his teammates did the same and even expected him to suit up.
Burns did indeed decide to play and it didn't take long for him to make a statement. He recorded two sacks within the first two drives of the game and also laid a massive hit on running back Tyler Allgeier on third down, forcing a punt.
For the first time since the preseason finale against Detroit, Burns spoke with the media and opened things up about how challenging these last few weeks have been for him and how he's handled it.
"First, I want to start off by thanking God. Give him all the glory, all the praise. Without him, I wouldn't even be here. And I say that to say, I've always had a relationship with him but through these times that I've been going through, he's shown me a lot. He's talking to me. He's gotten me through a lot and I feel like he's really developed my mental in a way where I can deal with what I'm going through."
To help with the stressful matter, Burns has focused on strengthening his relationship with God as well as reading the book Uncommon Life: Daily Challenge by Tony Dungy.
"It just gives you a message every day. I've been reading that and been praying a lot. I feel like at a certain point in time as a man, you go through challenges and my relationship with God has gotten stronger. I want to continue that. I hate that it took me this long for me to get into it, but I'm trying."
Burns did admit that he did give some consideration to not playing in Sunday's game but explained why he ultimately decided to.
"Yeah, it got to that point," Burns said. "Like I said, I've spent a lot of time with myself. Cut off the world for a minute. Got some great advice from a friend, Justin Houston. That was his advice, just cut off the world and talk to God. That's what I did and I played."
As far as proving his worth, Burns doesn't feel like there's anything he needs to do in order to be paid. That said, there are still plenty of things he wants to accomplish.
"No. I don't feel like I've got anything to prove. I feel like I've done what I needed to do. I'm just taking the next step in my game and I want to dominate. So coming out in that first quarter, first half, whatever...that's all that was on my mind was dominating. I just got to make sure I don't fizzle out when they change their game plan."
When asked if he will continue to play without a new deal Burns quickly answered stating, "I'm playing. God got his hands on me to protect me. I'm playing."
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