As Super Bowl week begins, Roseman reflects on his home run signings

https://sports.yahoo.com/super-bowl-week-begins-roseman-050000296.html

As Super Bowl week begins, Roseman reflects on his home run signings originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

NEW ORLEANS — In this Super Bowl season, the Eagles had two players named to the All-Pro first team.

Howie Roseman signed them both on the same day in March.

Of course, when the Eagles signed Saquon Barkley and Zack Baun on March 13, expectations for the two were a little different. Barkley was getting top-of-the-market running back money and Baun was more of an afterthought. But those two moves helped shape the Eagles’ incredible 2024 season.

They wouldn’t be in New Orleans without them.

On Saturday, as the Eagles finished their prep to fly to Super Bowl LIX, the Eagles’ general manager reflected on those two moves, starting with Barkley.

“A huge, huge player and person for this team,” Roseman said of the superstar running back. “And not a hard trigger to pull. I think I’m being consistent with what I said in March. Was extremely confident in the player and the person. I’d like to say he’s exceeded expectations, but he’s always been one of the best players I’ve ever seen, whenever I’ve watched him. And I have always known about what kind of person he is because it’s not hard to find that out.

“So I’m really not surprised by any of this, and I don’t say that in an arrogant way. It’s based on who he is, nothing to do with me. Because this is who he’s always been and I’m just glad everyone gets to see that. I would just say the person is as good as the player and I’m not downplaying the player. That makes me proud.”

Barkley, 27, has had one of the best seasons in Eagles history and one of the best seasons a running back has ever had in the NFL. He’s one of five finalists to win MVP and also a finalist to win Offensive Player of the Year.

Behind a fantastic offensive line, Barkley became just the ninth player in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a single regular season and he’s somehow been even better in the playoffs. In the Eagles’ first three playoff games, Barkley already has 442 yards and 5 touchdowns. After averaging 125.3 yards per game in the regular season, Barkley is averaging 147.3 in the playoffs.

Barkley also quickly became a leader and his selflessness has set a tone in the Eagles’ locker room.

Maybe Roseman wasn’t surprised by Barkley. After all, Barkley was the No. 2 pick in the 2018 draft and had already had two Pro Bowl seasons with the division-rival Giants before joining the Eagles on a three-year, $37.75 million contract.

But Baun?

OK, that one is a bit more of a surprise. The former Saints third-round pick had just finished off his four-year rookie contract in New Orleans without ever becoming a full-time starter. With the Eagles, Baun signed a one-year deal, which would have easily been worth it even if he didn’t become a star.

“We did a lot of work on him in the draft and you can see his versatility,” Roseman said. “And at the floor, he’s going to be the best special teams player we have. That’s the floor. And then we saw a player in Miami with a similar skillset and said the has a similar background, athlete and he has that kind of upside in Vic’s defense.”

The Eagles were extremely interested in Baun and pounced early. The Eagles clearly saw similarities between Baun and Andrew Van Ginkel, whom Fangio coached in Miami last season. Van Ginkel this offseason signed a two-year, $20 million to go to Minnesota. The Eagles got Baun on a one-year, $3.5 million deal.

The initial thought was that Baun would be a situational edge rusher and special teams ace. Baun finally got the chance to rush the passer in his final season with the Saints and had success. So getting the chance to rush the passer was actually part of the pitch to Baun’s agent this offseason.

But then Fangio had the idea to play Baun at inside linebacker and put him there way back in OTAs. Baunt hasn’t left that post since and had one of the best seasons ever for an Eagles linebacker.

Did the Eagles think that Baun was going to be an All-Pro?

Of course not! They would be lying if they said they did.

But they still get credit for scouting him and bringing him in. Sometimes things just work out in your favor.

It’s not like all of Roseman’s moves this offseason worked perfectly. In fact, he also signed Bryce Huff to a three-year, $51.1 million deal on the same day he signed Barkley and Baun. But you can’t expect every move to hit.

And to land two All-Pros on the same day that change the trajectory for your now Super Bowl-bound team is a good day at the office.

https://sports.yahoo.com/super-bowl-week-begins-roseman-050000296.html