The Los Angeles Rams have been an offensive juggernaut under head coach Sean McVay. But with some major question marks surrounding wide receiver Cooper Kupp, quarterback Matthew Stafford and their respective futures with the team, the balance of power could be shifting to the defensive side of the football in 2025.
The Rams will enter the new league year with a young and ascending defense, led by reigning AP Defensive Rookie of the Year Jared Verse. With other rising stars like EDGE Kobie Turner, 25, and linebacker Byron Young, 26, Los Angeles could be a few veteran additions away from boasting one of the top defenses in the NFL.
The team could be looking to add at inside linebacker after moving on from both Ernest Jones IV and Bobby Wagner in recent seasons. Ben Rolfe of Pro Football Network predicts the team will take a swing at the No. 1 free agent available in Zack Baun of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Here was Rolfe’s take on L.A. signing the first-team All-Pro linebacker away from the now defending Super Bowl champions:
The linebacker position is always interesting because it allows us to see how teams value off-the-ball linebackers against their other needs. The Rams certainly have a need at linebacker, but they also have other needs at left tackle, wide receiver, and potentially quarterback. They have the cap space to address a few of those needs, but how they prioritize them will be intriguing to see.
If Zack Baun hits the open market this offseason, there are a number of potential suitors. The intriguing thing will be how people balance his amazing year with the Eagles against the fact that it is his only year of starter production. Just based on pure production, Baun is the best linebacker available… and would be a great fit for the Rams to fill their holes at that spot.
Baun was an absolute game-changer in his first season with Philadelphia. The former situational pass rusher and special teamer of the New Orleans Saints switched to off-ball linebacker and dominated from the start, racking up 151 total tackles and 11 tackles for loss while forcing five fumbles. It was one of the best single-season performances from a linebacker in NFL history, and Baun figures to land a healthy pay raise as a pending free agent in the range of $10 million to $12 million per year.
The Eagles will obviously exhaust all options to bring Baun back, even if it works against the team’s philosophy to pay top-of-market at inside linebacker. Baun was just too good and consistent to let get away, and both sides have interest in a new multi-year extension.
With that said, there are never any guarantees in the NFL, and the Eagles already rank among the top teams in the NFL in real-cash spending for 2025. The team has done an admirable job of paying its top stars early, especially on offense, but the Eagles are expected to lose some key pieces from their Super Bowl roster, with Baun joined by DT Milton Williams, RG Mekhi Becton and EDGE Josh Sweat as notable free agents.
The guess here is that Baun will stick with Philly, but there’s no denying the potential fit in Los Angeles, working in tandem with the Rams’ dominant group of pass rushers. If Baun is able to test the open market without an extension in place, McVay and the Rams will definitely be a team to watch.
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