Zack Baun is back after a prove-it deal worked out for him and the Eagles: ‘I didn’t want to leave’

Zack Baun and Saquon Barkley held their introductory press conferences with the Eagles one year ago.

For Barkley, it marked a rarity in Eagles land: A high-priced running back on a team that tended to not spend too many resources at that position. For Baun, it wasn’t quite the same. He was signed to a one-year deal for much less than Barkley and didn’t really have a starting spot or even a true position.

Times have changed. The Eagles signed Barkley to an extension that makes him the highest-paid running back on an annual basis. They also re-upped with Baun — who became an All-Pro as an off-ball linebacker — before he could hit free agency and made him the fourth-highest paid player at a position the Eagles have also not valued with this type of financial commitment in the past.

» READ MORE: Eagles tackle Lane Johnson, soon to be 35, plans to keep on playing: ‘I love the challenge of being an older player’

“It’s cool to see the evolution of the mindset Howie [Roseman] has and stuff and the way he values positions and where he likes to put his money I guess you could say,” Baun said Wednesday of the Eagles’ general manager.

After the Eagles won the Super Bowl, with Baun contributing an interception in the first half, he said he was looking forward to seeing what free agency held for him. He never reached it.

“I really actually didn’t want to leave,” he said. “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.”

Baun said free agency last year was about finding the right fit. This year, it was about not leaving a place he grew to love quickly.

“We absolutely love it here,” Baun said. “It’s nice to be here in one place. My wife does a fantastic job of coordinating things for me and my family.

“I’m just so thankful for where football has taken my life.”

» READ MORE: Azeez Ojulari is happy to join the ‘brotherhood’ of Georgia players on the Eagles defense

Baun was one of the biggest surprises in the 2024 season after joining the Eagles on a one-year deal worth $3.5 million. His new deal will pay him $51 million over three seasons.

Signing Baun made it nearly impossible for the Eagles to retain other key pieces on the defense. They lost Milton Williams, Josh Sweat, Darius Slay, Oren Burks, and Isaiah Rodgers in free agency and traded C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

The Eagles have replaced a few of those players with free agents on one-year, prove-it deals similar to the one Baun signed last season.

“I feel like this team and this place is very good for that and guys that want to sign that one-year, prove-it deal and do what they can,” Baun said. “For the guys we brought in, I think the fit could be really good for them, and I’m excited, really excited.”

Baun said he’s looking forward to taking on more of a leadership role with the Eagles, not just because Brandon Graham is gone but because that’s the natural evolution for the next phase of his career. Like defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, Baun found some things about the Super Bowl win that he didn’t like.

“I look at my highlights sometimes, and it’s hard for me and my football mind to look at the highlights but not think about the plays that I missed during that game,” he said. “All I can think about is the two plays I let up or the three plays I had bad coverage. I’m a perfectionist in that way.”

A confident one, though.

“I felt like toward the end of the season, I was playing so confidently that I knew I was going to make a play,” Baun said. “I just couldn’t tell you what it was going to be or when or where, but I’m excited to build off of that confidence and continue to find myself in this scheme.”