The Philadelphia Eagles were able to make a dominant run to winning Super Bowl LIX last season despite losing breakout star and inside linebacker Nakobe Dean to a torn patellar tendon in the opening round of the NFC Playoffs.
The Eagles won’t want to try and test the waters to see what happens if Dean isn’t around this year.
Injury concerns emerged for the fourth year linebacker after he was forced to exit a 29-18 win over the Washington Commanders in Week 16 with a hamstring injury then later ruled out for the game.
Dean missed the first 5 games of the 2025 season as he recovered from his torn patellar tendon but has 55 tackles, 7 TFL, 2 forced fumbles and 4.0 sacks in 10 game with 8 starts and has been one of Philadelphia’s defensive stars down the stretch.
“Eagles LB Nakobe Dean has been downgraded to OUT for the remainder of the Commanders game with a hamstring injury,” Yahoo Sports wrote on X on Saturday, December 20.
Dean took the starting spot on the defense from rookie and 2025 first round pick Jihaad Campbell. The Eagles clinched the NFC East Division title with the win over the Commanders and are now 10-5 overall and on a 2-game winning streak.
“My main concerns entering the playoffs for the Eagles: Special teams, Jake Elliott, Nakobe Dean’s hamstring, Jalen Carter and Lane Johnson getting healthy,” Trending in the AM host Phil Stiefel wrote on X following the win. “That’s it. Eagles are a dangerous team in January.”
Baun-Dean Duo Could Be NFL’s Best
Part of the reason the Eagles have seemed to find solid footing late in the season is because Dean plays so well alongside NFL All-Pro Zack Baun, and the 2 could be the NFL’s elite inside linebacker duo at this point of the season.
“Who remembers all the awful Eagles linebackers we used to have to watch year after year?” Eagles Fan Central wrote on X. “Zack Baun and Nakobe Dean are like dreams come true.”
Baun and Dean are an unlikely duo to reach such heights. Baun was signed to a 1-year, $1.3 million free agent contract before the 2024 season, switched positions from edge rusher to inside linebacker and became an NFL All-Pro and Super Bowl champion in his first season.
Following the season, Baun cashed in to the tune of a 3-year, $51 million contract — something Dean will likely get to do this offseason with the Eagles or pretty much any team in the NFL looking for an inside linebacker.
Eagles Urged to Bring Back Dean
Dean was a third round pick out of Georgia in the 2022 NFL draft and became a full time starter for the first time in 2024, racking up 128 tackles, 3.0 sacks and 9 TFL in 15 games.
He’s also in the final year of his 4-year, $5.2 million rookie contract and appears destined to go elsewhere after this season — especially after the Eagles took Campbell with their first round pick.
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.”
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