The Green Bay Packers are exploring the addition of two-time Pro Bowl linebacker Zack Baun of the Philadelphia Eagles after bad injury luck has taken its toll on the position in significant fashion this season.
Easton Butler of Packer Report broke the news on social media Tuesday, October 27.
“The Packers have reportedly called the Eagles about LB Zack Baun, per sources,” Butler reported to X. “Sounding like the Eagles are listening to offers on multiple players as well.”
Baun, a third-round pick out of Wisconsin in 2020, was an All-Pro in 2024 and finished fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting that season. He has also been a Pro Bowler in each of the past two campaigns.
Buan is a traditional off-ball/inside linebacker whose career took off three years ago when he left the New Orleans Saints after four seasons, during which he was mostly a reserve, and joined the Eagles as a starter.
He inked a three-year deal worth $51 million total in 2025 that runs through the 2027 campaign. Baun, who turns 30 years old in late December, has tallied 51 combines tackles, including five tackles for loss, five pass breakups and three QB hits over six games played this season. He also tallied 3.5 sacks in each of the past two campaigns.
Zaire Franklin Likely to Miss 2nd Straight Game With Shin Injury
Green Bay desperately needs some help through the spine of the defense after Zaire Franklin suffered a hairline fracture in his shin during practice last week.
The injury sidelined Franklin for the Packers’ contest with the Detroit Lions at Ford Field last Sunday. It is likely to do the same to the linebacker against the Carolina Panthers on a short week, as Green Bay hosts the NFC South Division foe at Lambeau Field for the Week 8 edition of “Thursday Night Football.”
Ian Rapoport of ESPN and NFL Network reported a silver lining on Franklin’s unfortunate injury earlier this week.
“#Packers LB Zaire Franklin, who missed last week’s game after getting accidentally kicked in practice, suffered a hairline fracture in his leg, sources say,” Rapoport wrote on X. “Green Bay did not place him on injured reserve, and they believe he can return while missing minimal games.”
Packers Without Star ILB Edgerrin Cooper for Remainder of Season
Even if Franklin can get back sooner than later, the Packers are still depleted at the inside linebacker position due to the season-ending Achilles tendon tear that star Edgerrin Cooper suffered in Week 4 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Cooper’s non-contact injury robbed Green Bay of one of its best young defenders in what has been a nightmare season from a health standpoint for the roster on both sides of the football.
Superstar pass-rusher Micah Parsons remains out and will not play against the Panthers on Thursday, as he continues to rehabilitate a torn ACL he suffered in December of 2025.
Meanwhile, injury has obliterated Green Bay’s offensive line, most recently striking center Sean Rhyan by way of an ankle issue last Sunday in Detroit. He did not practice on Monday or Tuesday and is liable to miss multiple weeks, which leaves the Packers in dire straits at the center position after the team recently sent backup Jacob Monk to IR with a quadriceps injury.
Packers Linked to Trade for All-Pro LB Amid Zaire Franklin Injury