When it comes to the Philadelphia Eagles under Howie Roseman, inside linebacker has rarely been a priority in his team-building philosophy.
Now granted, on occasion, Roseman has paid up, from DeMeco Ryans to Nigel Bradham and beyond, but again and again, the Birds have lucked into a good interior player like TJ Edwards or Alex Singleton, only to allow them to leave town for not-so-lucrative deals by modern NFL standards elsewhere.
But what happens when the Eagles find a linebacker who is so good he gets Luke Kuechly comps? Would the Eagles allow that level of player to walk when he could theoretically be a long-term, high-level performer in the very same defense he broke out within during the 2024 season? Well, in the opinion of ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, Baun has simply played too well to reach the open market, and Roseman should pay up to keep him in town as a result.
“Yeah, while you’d love to bring everybody back, the priority needs to be Zack Baun, who is coming off of one of the best seasons we have seen in recent memory by any linebacker in football. The numbers here are spectacular: he made more than 15 percent of tackles in Eagles games last year, the highest rate of anybody in football,” Barnwell explained.
“He led the NFL in stuffs, tackles for no gain or a loss that created negative expected points for the offense. He was the best coverage linebacker in football per the NFL’s Next Gen stats. Then you get to the postseason, oh gosh, I mean, three turnovers forced, two fumble recoveries, I mean, this guy was all over the place for the Eagles. Those Vic Fangio defenses usually excel when they’re strong up the middle, strong at linebacker, strong at safety; not a place the Eagles have spent typically at linebacker, but this time, Zack Baun, the way he played a year ago, has to be a priority to bring back.”
You know, Barnwell really isn’t wrong, as when it comes to playing middle linebacker in Fangio’s scheme, it would be hard to design a player in a lab who is a better fit in the Eagles’ defense than the pride of Wisconsin. Baun is fast, has incredible football instincts, and has retained that pass rusher’s mentality after kicking inside, with the 28-year-old relentlessly chasing down would-be rushers behind the line of scrimmage with his fantastic closing speed. Factor in his admiration for Fangio for effectively saving his NFL career, and the idea of Baun leaving Philadelphia for any reason feels incredibly short-sighted, if not downright dumb.
Is there a chance Roseman saw how Oren Burks played for $1.25 million in the playoffs and scoffed at the idea of paying $1o million or more for Baun? Potentially so, but with Nakobe Dean questionable to play in Week 1, the Eagles would be shooting themselves in the foot – wing? – by allowing the collegiate Badger to leave Philadelphia for a few million dollars more.
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