NEW ORLEANS — More than 160 fellow free agents secured bigger contracts last offseason than the one that Zack Baun signed with the Eagles.
And yet Baun is one of five finalists for NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Baun left New Orleans in March as a bit player over four years with the Saints and returned Monday night as a game-wrecker responsible for getting the Eagles into Super Bowl LIX.
“Comfortable, good to be back,” Baun said Monday during Opening Night, “but it’s only special if we win this thing.”
The Saints wanted Baun so badly during the third round of the 2020 draft that they traded a future third-rounder just to swap picks and move up 14 spots. And then he was treated like a player without a position and turned into a core member of special teams.
So, it was a little head-scratching when the Eagles prioritized signing Baun to a one-year, $3.5 million deal on the first day of free agency last season — hours after poaching Saquon Barkley and Bryce Huff out of New York for multiyear, big-money contracts.
“I was role player here in New Orleans,” Baun said, “but the thing is I just kept working and working and working and knew that it’s about the circumstances sometimes.”
Now, Baun, 28, looks like the NFL’s best bargain thanks in part to defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s decision to turn Baun into a full-time inside linebacker instead of a part-time edge rusher. At least until he reaches free agency again next month and is projected by Pro Football Focus to cash in on a three-year, $39 million contract.
“Everyone wants to be wanted in some capacity,” Baun said. “That was the Eagles for me. Vic had a plan for me from the start.”
In four seasons with the Saints, Baun tallied 88 tackles, two sacks and one interception in 14 starts over 64 games. In one season with the Eagles, Baun rang up 151 tackles, five forced fumbles, four pᴀsses defended, one interception and 3.5 sacks in 16 games and starts.
“I was never frustrated,” Baun said. “Partially because that’s on me. My slow development and transition from position to position. But I just trusted the process.”
Baun added another forced fumble and fumble recovery when the Eagles defeated the Commanders in the NFC Championship game.
His knack for stripping the ball is the reason that Eagles stalwart Brandon Graham — who made the decisive play in the 2018 Super Bowl — picked Baun to make the biggest play Sunday from all options surrounding him.
“That boy, I expect him to go out and give me everything he’s got,” Graham said, “because that’s what he shows in practice.”
Baun collected his first piece of hardware for his breakthrough season last week, when his fellow linebackers surprised him with the Butkus Award for the NFL’s best linebacker at a small dinner.
Next up? He earned his spot next to T.J. Watt and Myles Garrett — both of whom are on Hall of Fame tracks — on the Defensive Player of the Year podium.
“It’s really cool to be even mentioned with those guys,” Baun said. “It’s a credit to a lot of people … I couldn’t do it without.”
