Zack Baun didn’t want to leave the Eagles, and the Eagles certainly didn’t want him to leave, so it was the right time to get a deal done and avoid the stress and uncertainty of free agency. That’s why, in the big picture, Baun didn’t give 31 other teams an opportunity to court him as an unrestricted free agent.
He was staying in Philadelphia, and that’s what he did on Wednesday, putting his signature on a contract that keeps him an Eagle through the 2027 season.
“I really actually didn’t want to leave,” Baun said via teleconference with Philadelphia reporters on Wednesday. “What we built here, the culture here, and honestly now that I’m thinking about it, I was just a piece of the puzzle that was put into a great culture already established. The people that work here, the system is in place, everything I felt here this past year just felt right for me and my family as well.
“Really didn’t want to leave and appreciated everything we built.”
A year made a world of difference for Baun, who last offseason was a free agent after four seasons with New Orleans, a player the Eagles liked for his skill set, but not one with a lot of acclaim. He signed a one-year deal with the Eagles, and as you know, was a key piece in Philadelphia’s No. 1-ranked defense that helped bring a second Lombardi Trophy to Philadelphia. Along the way, Baun earned All-Pro recognition, was a finalist for the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year Award and was selected to the Pro Bowl team.
He was a dynamic figure as an inside linebacker, a perfect fit in Vic Fangio’s defense and had he reached free agency, he would have been highly coveted.
But that was never going to happen, not with the desire the Eagles had for bringing him back and for his want to stay.
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