The Philadelphia Eagles have some important decisions to make this offseason and a lot of the groundwork will be laid at this week’s NFL Scouting Combine. The Eagles have a quartet of top free agents hitting the market but with just $22.3 million in cap space, they’ll have to be selective with who they decide to bring back.
While Milton Williams, Josh Sweat and Mekhi Becton could all find new homes in the next month, the Eagles have made one free agent a priority and it made Howie Roseman make some interesting comments as he spoke to reporters in Indianapolis.
Eagles Will Make Retaining Zack Baun A Priority During Free Agency
According to PHLY’s Zach Berman, Roseman said the Eagles will make “a concerted effort” to keep Zach Baun during free agency. While he also admitted that he could have re-signed Baun during the regular season, he didn’t feel like it was the right timing to strike a deal.
“We didn’t do any deals during the season which probably could have prevented some of these problems,” Roseman lamented. “But we just didn’t feel like the timing was right.”
Howie Roseman said the Eagles will make a "concerted effort" to keep Zack Baun.
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) February 25, 2025
"We didn't do any deals during the season, which probably could have prevented some of these problems, but we just didn't feel like the timing was right," Roseman said.
The Eagles struck gold on the free agent market one year ago by signing Zack Baun to a one year deal. After four non-descript seasons with the New Orleans Saints, Baun was looking to compete for a starting role and eventually took off in Vic Fangio’s defense, collecting a career-high 151 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, four pass deflections and five forced fumbles.
Add in Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections with seven tackles and an interception in the Super Bowl and teams could be lining up to sign the 28-year-old next month. But the good news for the Eagles is that he should be affordable with Spotrac estimating a $9.7 million annual salary in his next contract.
Making Baun a priority also makes sense looking at the Eagles’ depth chart. While Roseman hinted that Jalyx Hunt and Moro Ojomo could have increased roles next season – perhaps foreshadowing the departure of Williams and Sweat next month – there isn’t a clear replacement for Baun unless they believe Jeremiah Trotter Jr., who posted a 75.7 overall grade according to Pro Football Focus in his rookie year, is ready to take a starting role.
With Baun also stating his desire to return to Philadelphia, this deal shouldn’t be a hard one to iron out and the two sides could agree on a return before the NFL’s league year begins on March 12.