NFL News NFL News, Reports and Updates
Eagles linebacker earns a special shout-out from Nick Sirianni originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Late last week, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was asked a question about the toughness C.J. Gardner-Johnson brings to his team. He answered it.
Then he was asked an entirely unrelated question and answered that too.
But then a little lightbulb went off.
And the head coach who doesn’t always like to single players out, circled back to the topic of toughness and put the spotlight on a different guy.
“Another new addition to our team that I think brings an element of toughness with the way he plays with his motor, with the way he strikes blocks is Zack Baun,” Sirianni said. “It shows not only on the defensive side, but it also shows during special teams.
“Like, this guy is a tough, tough dude that plays with great detail and great passion for this game with physicality.”
That’s high praise from Sirianni.
“It means a lot,” Baun said on Monday. “We talk about it a lot. It’s one thing to talk about it but it’s next-level to do it and do it consistently. That’s something that’s always been in my game. I always pride myself on that. I’m a hustle guy. From being a special teamer, it’s all about effort and tenacity and always moving around so that’s always been a part of my game. I appreciate that, Coach.”
It’s pretty clear what the Eagles think about the 27-year-old free agent linebacker pickup.
When the Eagles signed Baun, most figured he’d end up being a situational edge rusher in Vic Fangio’s defense and a core special teams guy. That was the role he had at the end of his time with the Saints and it seemed like a good fit in this new-look defense.
But with every passing day, it’s looking more and more likely that Baun is going to be a starting off-ball linebacker when the real games begin.
Since the spring, Baun has been working primarily with the first-team defense next to fellow free agent pickup Devin White and he’s been…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/eagles-linebacker-earns-special-shout-110000980.html
Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia
Publish date : 2024-08-06 11:00:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
