Zack Baun NFL free agency landing spots: stay with success or go with money?

Zack Baun’s 2024 season must have felt like a dream for him: He was signed for next to nothing, and his expectations were next to nothing. Then, he became the best linebacker in the NFL. It was nothing short of amazing and he was key to the Philadelphia Eagles winning the Super Bowl.

He’s going to get paid a life-changing amount of money this offseason, and he’s earned every single cent of it. Every team in the NFL should want Baun, but there are only a handful of places he could go. 

You can’t blame Zack Baun for chasing the bag

Obviously, Zack Baun could stay with the Eagles. That would be sick. Nakobe Dean went down with a torn patellar tendon in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, which means there's a decent chance he misses a whole bunch of, if not the entire, 2025 season. Signing Baun again would give the defense a level of consistency at the linebacker position next year. On top of that, he could maybe sign at a discount because he clearly likes the team, and because Vic Fangio is the defensive coordinator who got the most out of him.

On the other hand, the Eagles have a bad history with consistent linebacker play. T.J. Edwards is the most recent Eagles linebacker who was in a situation that was remotely close to Baun’s. 

Edwards was an Undrafted Free Agent in 2019 when the Eagles signed him, and he was essentially developed from scratch. Howie Roseman had a whole bunch of opportunities to extend him but never did. Then, after a great season in 2022, Edwards went to the Bears in free agency.

Then, in 2023, the Eagles linebackers played just about as terribly as any linebackers in the entire league. Maybe Howie Roseman learned from that debacle and realized that he needs to have a solid spine to the defense… or maybe he didn’t.

There’s a chance that he sees this whole situation from a wider angle: if Vic Fangio and Bobby King can turn Zack Baun into an All-Pro linebacker, then why couldn’t he do it with someone else? 

It’d be hard to blame him for thinking like that, but is it worth the gamble to try to repeat that process instead of keeping the guy that we all saw play at an insanely high level? It will really come down to whether Baun sees the money other teams are offering him and if he’s willing to take the discount to stay with Vic Fangio.

Baun is going to get offers from a lot of teams, but there are only a handful of landing spots that have the salary cap space to afford him, and that would benefit him as a player. I’m looking at teams that have the money and run a defense that Baun could work in.

Arizona Cardinals:

Against all odds, Jonathan Gannon is still the head coach in Arizona. He runs a bastardized version of the Vic Fangio defense, and that’s the style of defense that Baun has proven to be elite in. 

The Cardinals also have the fourth most cap space ($70 million-ish), which means they’ll be able to make big offers to big players. Gannon has poached players and coaches from the Eagles in the past (linebackers coach Nick Rallis and Linebacker Kyzir White), so it wouldn’t be wild to think that he’d bang the table for them to try to bring Baun in. 

Also, Kyzir White is going to be a free agent, so they’ll be looking to not just backfill that position, but also upgrade it big time. 

Las Vegas Raiders

Similar to the Cardinals, the Raiders have a boatload of cap space ($92 million-ish), and their linebacker Robert Spillane is entering free agency. 

It’s a franchise that’s looking to be on the up-and-up in 2025, especially on defense, when they hire Pete Carroll to be their new head coach. If Baun doesn’t want to go to a team that has a Fangio defense, then playing for a coach who built the Legion of Boom is another good option. 

Tom Brady is also in the Raiders’ ownership group now, and if they’re a smart organization (which… ehhh), they’ll probably listen to a little bit of what he has to say. Baun was Brady’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2024, and as a matter of fact, Baun was Brady’s only “____ Player of the Year” who is going to be a free agent. 

It only makes sense that Brady would try to get the Raiders to pick up Baun. 

Side note: it’s very frustrating how much Tom Brady likes players on the Eagles. He only has nice things to say about Jalen Hurts, and it would be much more emotionally pleasing if he just stayed being the bad guy.

Seattle Seahawks

Last season, the Seahawks handled their linebackers in just about the most ridiculous way possible: They signed Tyrel Dodson in free agency, who led the team in tackles through the first nine games (he was even a captain in Week 8). Then, out of nowhere, they released him so rookie Tyrice Knight and veteran Ernest Jones could take over. 

To be fair to them, it kind of worked because the Seahawks' defense was better in the second half of the season. It probably wasn’t all due to different linebackers, but that definitely played a part. 

Anyways, Ernest Jones is going to be a free agent, so that’ll be a good opening for a player like Baun. Additionally, Mike Macdonald is a good defensive head coach, and he has historically done really well with his linebackers. 

The knock against the Seahawks is that they’re another team that’s on the eighth circle of Salary Cap Hell, and they have a bunch of roster needs. From Baun’s perspective, it’d be cool to be able to play for Macdonald, but their offer probably won’t hold water compared to everyone else’s.

Hopefully, Baun stays with the reigning Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles (that’s fun to say, and I’ll be doing that a lot over the next year), but he’s really only going to get this one mondo-sized payday in his career. If he leaves, you have to be happy for him. If he stays, then he’ll get to keep being The Bald Eagle. 

What’s more important: zillions of dollars or success and a cool nickname? That’s only for Zack Baun to decide.