Eagles GM Howie Roseman aiming to “make a concerted effort” to re-sign Zack Baun in free agency

Bringing back Zack Baun is one of the many priorities for Howie Roseman. Ahead of the NFL Combine, the Philadelphia Eagles general manager had this to say about Baun, one of his pending free agents:

"We’ll make a concerted effort to try to keep him here."

The Eagles linebacker was a massive factor in his team’s Super Bowl triumph this past season, something Roseman acknowledged on Thursday.

"(Baun) made a huge difference during the regular season, made a huge difference during the playoffs, made a huge difference in the Super Bowl. ... Those are guys that you want to keep. There’s no doubt about it."

A consensus All-American at the University of Wisconsin in 2019, Baun registered a career-high 152 combined tackles in 2024. He also registered 3.5 sacks and forced five fumbles, all career-bests for the 28-year-old.

He recorded 33 tackles on the defensive side of the ball in the post-season, the most of any player. He was also tied for first in playoff interceptions with two, one of which came in their 40-22 Super Bowl triumph over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Baun was a First-team All-Pro and made the Pro Bowl in 2024 for the first time in his NFL career. He was also a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year, finishing fifth in voting.

Zack Baun’s positional change has paid off

When Baun came to the Eagles in March last year, he was an outside linebacker who had two sacks in the 2023 campaign with the New Orleans Saints. In his four seasons at that position in the Big Easy, his best year for tackles was 2021, when he had a mere 22, while he didn’t create a single turnover at that spot.

In Philly, he transitioned to an inside linebacking role and flourished, with over 150 combined tackles and 58 solo ones, 48 more than he registered in his final season as a Saint.

From the beginning of the 2024 campaign, playing on the inside seemed to suit him much better. Baun recorded 15 tackles and two sacks in Week 1, the first multi-sack game of his NFL career.

In Week 10, he had two forced fumbles, one of which he recovered in a 34-6 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. For that performance, he was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Week.

The Eagles were able to find a position where Baun could excel, and next month, we’ll find out just how valuable he is to the franchise moving forward. Baun joined the Eagles last year on a one-year contract for an estimated $1.6 million, which was remaining money from his Saints contract.