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Why the Pro Bowl incentive in Zack Baun’s contract made him laugh originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Zack Baun took a glance at the contract his agent and the Eagles agreed on back in March and there was one thing in there that when he saw it, all he could do was laugh.
“Honestly, when I signed here, I just kind of laughed at the fact that (a Pro Bowl) incentive was in my contract,” Baun said Thursday. “Because I didn’t think that was necessarily a goal of mine.
“Obviously, it’s a goal of mine, but I didn’t think I could reach it at this point in my career. But 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.”
Before he got here, Baun had started 14 games in four years, with a total of one interception, two sacks and six tackles for loss in 62 games, mainly as a backup edge rusher.
And there was hardly a free agency frenzy for his services. The Eagles signed Baun in March for one year at $3.5 million, which makes him the 72nd-highest-paid linebacker in the NFL, according to Spotrac.
Look at him now.
Baun on Thursday morning was one of six Eagles named to the NFC Pro Bowl team. In his first year with the Eagles, his first year as an off-ball linebacker, his first year as a full-time starter.
A truly remarkable story.
He’s the first Eagles position player to make a Pro Bowl in his first year as a full-time player since Donovan McNabb in 2000 and the first defensive player since Bill Bradley in 1971.
And he’s only the fourth Eagles off-ball linebacker to make a Pro Bowl in the last 40 years, joining Seth Joyner in 1991 and 1993, William Thomas in 1995 and 1996 and Jeremiah Trotter in 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2005.
Baun said it wasn’t until well into the season that he even thought this was a possibility.
“I thought I was playing myself to that position and obviously you just work and work and work and hope that’s going to be the outcome, but never really…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-pro-bowl-incentive-zack-232055925.html
Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia
Publish date : 2025-01-02 23:20:00
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