The Eagles suddenly have a stud linebacker. What a feeling!
He was one of the first players targeted by the Eagles this off-season, signed on the first day of free agency. He had been a solid situational pass rusher as an edge/outside linebacker for the New Orleans Saints, specializing in blitzing the quarterback and causing problems in the backfield.
No one could have expected what Zack Baun has given the Eagles this year.
Transitioned to inside linebacker by new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, Baun has put together an All-Pro caliber season and, after a sterling performance against the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday, was named the NFC’s Defensive Player of the Week.
It is the first time an Eagles off-ball linebacker has won Defensive Player of the Week since Jeremiah Trotter in Week 7 of 2005, when Jim Johnson’s blitz-heavy scheme was ruling the roost. It’s also the first time the Eagles have had a defensive player at any position win since Brandon Graham in Week 14 of 2022 (Darius Slay, Graham and Haason Reddick won it three straight weeks in Weeks 2-4 of ‘22 as well).
Baun piled up eight tackles, forced two fumbles, recovered a fumble and registered a tackle for loss. Among linebackers, Baun’s 86.4 PFF grade ranks third only to Tennessee’s Jack Gibbens (88.4) and San Francisco’s Fred Warner (91.4). His 87 tackles are 11th most of any defensive player in the NFL.
Baun signed a one-year, $1.6 million deal with the Birds and could become a free agent at the end of the season, unless GM Howie Roseman decides to sign him to a contract extension. Seemingly a no-brainer for both sides, inking Baun to a long-term deal to stay in Philadelphia makes too much sense not to happen.
The Eagles have long struggled to figure out the linebacker position. They have not spent a first or second round pick on the position since San Diego State’s Matt McCoy at the tail end of the second round in 2005, and generally avoid signing linebackers to multi-year free agent contracts.
Some comparable deals are the three-year, $31.3 million deal signed by Zaire Franklin with the Colts in March, the three-year, $37.5 million contract signed by Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah with the Browns during training camp and the three-year, $30 million contract Foyesade Oluokun inked with the Jaguars back in March. Osusu-Koramoah’s $12.5 million salary this year makes him the 6th-highest paid linebacker in football, Franklin’s $10.4 million in ‘24 makes him the 8th-highest paid, while Oluokun’s $10 million AAV is tied for 9th.
So what makes sense for Baun? While this is his first season as a starting off-ball linebacker, that lack of experience hasn’t translated onto the field, where he has been a disruptive playmaker since Week 1. It wouldn’t be crazy to think he could get a price just over Owusu-Koramoah’s $12.5 million a season but under Patrick Queen’s $13.7 million contract (3 years, $41 million).
The Eagles have never doled out a lot of money for linebackers, but it’s plain to everyone how instrumental Baun and third-round pick Nakobe Dean have been to Fangio’s suddenly stingy defense. Roseman cannot let Baun walk away in free agency like he has done with previous linebackers. This is a deal that needs to happen.
