The Philadelphia Eagles have a short week as they play on Thursday Night Football against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2 but will be short one-star player on the defensive side of things. It is being reported that second-year linebacker Nakobe Dean will be placed on Injured Reserve with a foot injury.
The #Eagles have signed LB Nicholas Morrow to the active roster and placed LB Nakobe Dean on Injured Reserve. They also added LB Rashaan Evans to their practice squad. https://t.co/1Tv1dvMI6C
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 12, 2023
He suffered the injury in the Week 1 road victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday and now will miss at least four weeks. Any player can stay on Injured Reserve for as long as needed but comes with a minimum of four weeks he will be out. The earliest he is able to return is Week 5, as the team is on the road taking on the Los Angeles Rams.
The Eagles do not have much depth at the middle linebacker spot, so the Eagles signed Nicholas Morrow to the team as well as Rashaad Evans to their practice squad.
How good can this Philadelphia Eagles defense be?
The Philadelphia Eagles have a lot of talent throughout their roster and should be one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl. The defense had the third-most sacks in NFL history last season but struggled a bit in the season opener against the Patriots.
They allowed 20 points to the New England Patriots and allowed 306 passing yards, which ranks the fourth-worst in Week 1. Philly also was unable to get much pressure as they only recorded a pair of sacks in the victory.
The defense did have a lot of turnovers, with last year’s defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon becoming the Arizona Cardinals head coach, as well as losing CJ Gardner-Johnson and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave in the offseason. They still are extremely talented, but it is a bit of a different look for the 2023 season.
It could just be the team getting into a groove after not playing too much of the preseason, but the Eagles have the ability to be a top-five defense by the end of the regular season.