Brian Burns admits frustrations led to his ejection for punching Bucs player

Carolina Panthers star linebacker Brian Burns opened up on Sunday about his ejection from the game against Tampa Bay. A scuffle broke out in the Bucs-Panthers game on Sunday night and Burns ended up throwing a punch at Buccaneers offensive lineman Cody Mauch, resulting in his ejection. The defender made contact with the lineman’s face/helmet before an official separated him from the scrum.

The ejection was the first of Burns’ career at any level of the sport, and will likely lead to a fine from the league this week.

“First, I just want to apologize to my team, my family for handling myself that way,” Burns said, via Panthers.com. “Never been ejected from a game, especially for doing something like that.

“So yeah, the emotions got the best of me.”

The game with 16 punts ended in a 21-18 victory for Tampa Bay, and dropped the Panthers to 1-11 on the year. The back-and-forth nature of the game brought Burns’ emotions to a boiling point late in the contest.

“I was mad, and then some events happened, we scored, we got scored on, the game wasn’t going our way initially,” Burns said. “It wasn’t even my fight. I just got pushed, and then I turned around and reacted.

“So I take full accountability for my actions, but, you know, I can’t do that.”

Panthers fall to 1-11 in first game since Frank Reich firing

The Panthers’ comeback effort on Sunday came up short due to an interception with 2:21 left in the fourth quarter. Once the Buccaneers got the ball back, they used five plays to run out the clock. It was Carolina’s first game since the firing of head coach Frank Reich and losing their star linebacker late in the game was not what the team needed.

“I’m proud of the team, you know,” Burns said. “I’m proud of how we fought. We didn’t give up, and fought to the end of the close game.

“I just wish I didn’t make that mistake, so I could have been out there with them.”

Burns has missed time this season due to injuries, but he’s also looking to sign a long-term deal with the franchise soon. The former Florida State star has been one of the best pass rushers in the league for the past few years. In 2022, he racked up 12.5 sacks, while racking up 7.5 sacks or more in 2019, 2020, and 2021. So far this season, he has six sacks.

He’s led the Panthers in sacks in all but two seasons since joining the team, selected No. 16 overall by Carolina in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Florida State. He’s fresh off of his best year yet ending the 2022 season with 63 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, and 22 QB hits, all representing career highs for Burns.

On3’s Wade Peery contributed to this report.