No Laughing Matter: Eagles' LB Is a Pro Bowl Player

Zack Baun admitted that he laughed at the Pro Bowl incentive in his contract.

Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Zack Baun. / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA - Pro Bowl?

Zack Baun couldn't help but chuckle when he read one of the incentives in his one-year, $1.6 million contract that the emerging fifth-year linebacker signed with the Eagles in the offseason.

"Honestly, Something that was in my contract, and I kind of just laughed at the [Pro Bowl] incentive that was in my contract," Baun said. "Because I didn't think that was a necessarily a goal of mine."

Baun quickly correctly himself.

“Obviously, it's a goal of mine, but I didn't think I could reach it at this point in my career," he admitted. "To be able to be voted by fans, players around the league and coaches, it really means a lot to me and a lot to the guys on this defense.”

During his rookie contract as a 2020 third-round pick of New Orleans, Baun started 14 games in four seasons and was pigeonholed as a tweener, undersized to be a full-time edge and a little too big to handle the movement skills an off-ball LB needs.

He was a good special-teams player and Philadelphia GM Howie Roseman targeted Baun in the early days of free agency to handle a similar role with the Eagles.

Needing help at linebacker, Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio took a look at Baun's film and saw the instincts and athleticism of an off-ball LB.

Fangio, couldn't help but spike the football when the team found out that Baun was officially one of its six Pro Bowl selections.

"Remember in the spring when you asked me when I am getting outside linebacker reps?" Fangio smiled.

Even Baun didn't completely buy into the plan until it all started to click.

Baun has been a playmaking force this season with 3 ½ sacks, an interception, five forced fumbles, 11 tackles for loss, five quarterback hits, and 151 tackles.

In a league where reputation often matters, Bauk skipped that aspect of the Pro Bowl cycle by outplaying his peers.

"It honestly wasn't really a thing I thought about until people were commenting on my Instagram photos I'm like, ‘OK, maybe I'm at that level,’ but you never really know," Baun said.
“I just kept working and working and was hoping that I'd be recognized for the work I put in.”

Back in September Fangio said he wasn't going to bet his life savings on Baun excelling at ILB "But I had a good feeling he could do it.”

Turns out Fangio should have made that bet because the best player on the veteran coach's first No. 1 defense is Zack Baun.

"The 'tweener' type, or too-small-to-be-an-edge, too-big-to-be-on-the-inside — it's only what you make of it," said Baun. "If you think an outside guy won't be able to play inside linebacker, he never will be able to."

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