One-And-Done Or Not, Eagles' LB Delivered

The Eagles’ linebacker room and the evolution of the group was one of the biggest stories of the 2024-25 season.

Rewind to the spring and summer and fingers were crossed that Devin White would turn into the player he was supposed to be when Tampa Bay selected him at No. 5 overall coming out of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Behind the scenes, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio had already decided to play Zack Baun, a targeted Howie Roseman free-agent signing to try to replicate what Andrew Van Ginkel gave Fangio in Miami as a versatile edge player, at off-ball linebacker. 

Meanwhile, Nakobe Dean was still not himself after a difficult rehab from Lisfranc surgery and Oren Burks may have been the one locked-in part of the plan as a proven backup LB and special teams player.

However, most pegged the collection as one of the poorer LB rooms in the NFL.

It turned out to be the best when Baun came out of nowhere to be a playmaking machine and a first-team All-Pro, Dean broke out in his third NFL season and finally looked like the Butkus Award winner he was coming out of Georgia until tearing the patellar tendon in his left knee against Green Bay on Wild Card Weekend.

With White long gone after being released in early October after never playing even one snap for the team, Burks was thrown into the deep end of the pool for the second straight season. Last year with San Francisco, the veteran was forced into action in the Super Bowl when Dre Greenlaw tore his Achilles and was put in a blender by Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes.

This time, the Eagles’ defensive front was dictating terms and Burks was part of a suffocating defense that put on a historic performance in the big game. The Chiefs went nine offensive drives before making it into Philadelphia territory.

“Definitely a lot of hardship after that loss last year and just feel like for me it’s like to get into the process again. It’s hard to kinda come down after that loss,” Burks said. “To have to rebound and come back with another contender and having another shot at it against the same team. 

"That’s special.”

After dealing with a knee injury for a good portion of the summer, Burks was released at the initial cutdown to 53 back on Aug. 27 of last year. It was a gamble but one that paid off for GM Howie Roseman who was able to get Burks back to the practice squad a day later and by Aug. 29 Burks was back on the 53 as Roseman finished up his manipulation.

“I’m just like super proud of myself,” Burks said when asked by Philadelphia Eagles on SI to revisit that uncertainty in late August. “The support system I have around myself, the faith in God. Just being able to see through all that, being able to keep my head right. Be ready when the opportunity came up. 

“When the team needed me I was there.”

Moving forward, Burks is set to become a free agent and believes he’s earned the right to be a starter, something that might be untenable in Philadelphia if Baun returns and Dean gets healthy.

“Yeah, I feel like I proved myself in those last couple of games. My resume last year with the Niners and I’ve just got to continue to get better. That’s always the goal, just get better as a player, get better as a man,” Burks said. “Proving it and putting it on tape so we’ll see what happens.”

Winning has become a staple in Burks’ NFL journey, playing on good teams with Green Bay and San Francisco before winning it all this season with the Eagles.

“Once you kinda get used to [winning] it’s hard to go back,” Burks admitted. “Obviously, at Vandy we played in some Bowl Games but didn’t have the best seasons. For me it’s just finding somewhere that’s a great fit for me, somewhere that I could add value. Great locker room is what I’m gonna be looking for. Obviously a lot of moving pieces here but we’ll see what happens.”

For now, Burks is headed back to his home in Nashville and looking forward to spending time with his 8-month-old daughter.

Wherever he lands next he wills always be remembered fondly in Philly.

"Getting back home to Nashville. Excited about that." Burks said. "To spend some time with my family and have a daughter that’s eight months. Looking forward to spend some time with her. So I’ll take some time to reflect, talk to my agent, and spend some time with my family and see what the best situation is for me.”