The Denver Broncos took a shoot at fixing their inside linebacker woes this offseason when they signed former San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw to a 3-year, $31.5 million free agent contract.
Greenlaw, who famously tore his Achilles tendon in the Super Bowl following the 2023 season, has been a huge whiff to this point. He missed almost all of the offseason, preseason and 6 regular season games with a quad injury and then, when he returned, missed another game due to a 1-game suspension when he threatened a referee following a win over the New York Giants in Week 7.
The Broncos are now missing fellow starting linebacker Alex Singleton, who just underwent surgery for testicular cancer and is in the final season of a 3-year, $18 million contract he signed in March 2023.
The long term solution for the Broncos might not come until free agency, where they should take a long, hard look at signing Super Bowl champion Nakobe Dean away from the Philadelphia Eagles.
Dean is the No. 12 ranked free agent in Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox’s latest Top 50 free agency rankings for 2026.
“Linebacker Nakobe Dean had a breakthrough campaign in 2024, in which he amassed 128 tackles and three sacks while allowing an opposing passer rating of only 80.8 in coverage,” Knox wrote on November 5. “While the 24-year-old’s season was ended by a torn patellar tendon in January, he returned to the field in October.”
Dean Projected for 3-year, $27 Million Contract
Dean tore his patellar tendon in last season’s NFC Divisional Round against the Green Bay Packers but returned after missing the first 5 games of the regular season and has looked sharp — and back to his normal, playmaking self.
In 5 games and 3 starts, Dean has 21 tackles, 2.0 sacks, 3 TFL, and 1 forced fumble. He’s also in the final season of the 4-year, $5.2 million rookie contract he signed after the Eagles drafted him in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft.
The Broncos wouldn’t have to break the bank to get him.
“PROJECTION: Eagles standout linebacker Nakobe Dean is projected to sign a 3-YEAR, $27 MILLION CONTRACT extension,” ML Football wrote on its official X account. “Dean is only 24 and a rising star. Nakobe had 128 tackles last season, 3 sacks, a forced fumble and INT. Philadelphia views him as a key defender moving forward.”
Dean Called NFL’s ‘Most Underpaid Player’
Dean, who won a College Football Playoff National Championship at Georgia in his final college season, is the kind of player who can steady a defense.
He’s also about to be the odd man out in Philadelphia, where NFL All-Pro inside linebacker Zack Baun signed a 3-year, $51 million contract in March and the Eagles spent their 2025 first round pick on linebacker Jihaad Campbell.
Dean’s production vs. how much he’s making right now landed him on Bleacher Report’s list of the NFL’s “Most Underpaid Players” headed into 2025 — despite the injury.
“Another underrated young NFC East linebacker coming off a triple-digit-tackle campaign (128) making relative chump change on a four-year, $5.2 million rookie contract,” Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon wrote on March 28. “Let’s just hope a major knee injury suffered in January won’t cost him significant progress (and money) in 2025 or beyond.”
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