The Philadelphia Eagles are expecting to be without one of their key cogs on the defensive side of the football. NFL.com and NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport is reporting that linebacker Nakobe Dean is set to miss multiple weeks due to a foot injury that he suffered during the Week 1 victory over the New England Patriots.
#Eagles LB Nakobe Dean is expected to miss multiple weeks with a foot injury suffered yesterday in their win over the #Patriots, sources say. It was relatively decent news considering, as no surgery is required — he should be back with plenty of time this season.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 11, 2023
This comes as a bit of good news as the team is expecting no surgery to be required and will return with a majority of the season still ahead. He was seen in a walking boot while leaving Gillette Stadium yesterday and had a decent game overall. Dean finished with a career-high seven tackles (four solo, three assisted) on the day.
This is going to be a major blow to the Philadelphia Eagles’ defense, as they were depending on Dean to take a major step in his second season in the NFL. No word on a return date has been officially announced as of this writing either.
Who will fill the void for the Philadelphia Eagles with Nakobe Dean out?
According to the official Philadelphia Eagles’ depth chart, Nakobe Dean is the only middle linebacker or “Mike” on the team. The only linebackers on the roster officially are Zach Cunningham, Christian Elliss, Haason Reddick, Nolan Smith, and Patrick Johnson.
They do have some options in their practice squad, such as Kyron Johnson, who appeared in 16 games last season but is recovering from an appendectomy. Ben VanSumeren is an undrafted free agent and registered 17 tackles in the final preseason game. If not them, the team may go outside the organization for a fill-in until Dean is ready to be activated.
Adam Schefter has just also reported the Eagles are signing former Titans’ first-round picker linebacker Rashaan Evans to the practice squad for the extra depth at the position.
It will be interesting to see what head coach Nick Sirianni and defensive coordinator Sean Desai decide to do on this side of the football.