February 26, 2026
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
Nakobe Dean is scheduled to be a free agent in a couple weeks.
Over the last few weeks, we've been taking a position-by-position look at which players will likely be back with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2026, and which ones likely won't. Today we'll continue on with the off-ball linebackers.
Regarding the polls below, they are your votes on what you think the Eagles should do, not necessarily what you think they will do. Please think of them more as approval polls for each player.
Previous "stay or go" polls
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end
Offensive tackle | Guard | Center
Edge | Interior D-line
Baun was a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year in 2024. He was also a First-Team All-Pro, and he made the Pro Bowl. After that season the Eagles were able to re-sign Baun to a reasonable three-year deal worth $51 million.
In 2025, Baun didn't quite have that extraordinary type of season again, but his production really wasn't that far off, and he was deservedly named to his second straight Pro Bowl.
| Zack Baun | Tackles (TFL) | Sacks | INT-PBU | FF-FR |
| 2024 | 151 (11) | 3.5 | 1-4 | 5-1 |
| 2025 | 123 (7) | 3.5 | 2-7 | 1-1 |
Baun proved in 2025 that his outstanding 2024 season wasn't just a fluke, and that he was worth the contract he earned last offseason. He'll be patrolling the middle of the field for the Eagles again in 2026. Stay.
Dean had a breakout season in 2024, making 128 tackles, three sacks, a forced fumble, two recoveries, and a game-sealing INT Week 9 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Unfortunately, in the Eagles' Wildcard Round win over the Packers, Dean tore a patellar tendon, ending his season.
If he hadn't suffered such a serious injury, Dean would have been a candidate for an early contract extension last offseason. Instead, the team selected Jihaad Campbell in the first round of the 2025 draft, and Dean missed the first six games of the season.
Upon his return to the lineup, Dean replaced Campbell as the starter opposite Baun, and in many ways looked like the player he was in 2024. He was particularly effective as a blitzer, running through overmatched running backs on the way to the quarterback. He did occasionally leave something to be desired in run defense and in coverage.
Dean is one of the "big four" Eagles free agents this offseason, along with EDGE Jaelan Phillips, TE Dallas Goedert, and S Reed Blankenship. So far, we have Phillips as a "stay," and Goedert as a "go." I've been back and forth on Dean all offseason, but I've landed on him being more likely to go than stay.
Of course, the big question is how teams around the league will value Dean. There are plenty of reasons why he might not attract heavy offers elsewhere around the league:
• In the 2022 draft, Dean was thought of by many draft analysts as a first-round prospect. The NFL didn't agree, as he fell to the third round.
• He's short, and not super athletic.
• He now has an extensive injury history, dating back to college.
The Eagles value Dean's leadership on and off the field, and, obviously, Vic Fangio chose Dean over Campbell once Dean was healthy enough to play in 2025. So if the Eagles can re-sign him, I believe they would like to keep him.
But ultimately, there are 31 other teams out there and not many good free agents this year. All it takes is one to fall in love with him and price out the Eagles. Go.
The Eagles ended a 46-year span in which they didn't select a linebacker in the first round when they drafted Campbell 31st overall.
The selection of Campbell was largely hailed as a steal. Daniel Jeremiah had him 12th in his prospect rankings, while Dane Brugler had him 14th, and Mel Kiper had him 21st. So why did he fall? Well, he was injured. More specifically, he had surgery on a torn labrum following the 2024 season. That did not dissuade the Eagles from grading him very highly, even though he was not expected to begin practicing in training camp until August.
However, on the first day of camp (July 23rd), Campbell was pretty much a full participant, significantly beating his recovery timeline. Campbell looked the part immediately, with his impressive size and athleticism, and throughout camp it became clear that he was going to start Week 1.
In the Eagles' first seven games, Campbell had 43 tackles, an INT, a forced fumble, and a couple of pass breakups. But when Dean returned to the field from his patellar tendon tear, Campbell was demoted to make room for him.
Campbell did get to play on the edge a bit as well, but was mostly ineffective there. He has a ways to go as a pass rusher, if the Eagles intend on using him in some sort of edge/LB hybrid role going forward.
If he had started the whole season, Campbell likely would have accumulated stats that would have competed with some of the other rookie finalists for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. But beyond his play on the field, I was impressed by his maturity after he lost his starting job. He didn't complain, and he was prepared to play again when Dean got hurt later in the season.
There's a lot to like about Campbell's skill set, and he just turned 22 on Tuesday. If Dean leaves in free agency, Campbell will instantly become a very important player for the Eagles in 2026. Stay.
When training camp began in 2025, Dean was on the PUP list and it wasn't expected that Campbell would be ready until August. As such, Trotter was in line to get all the first-team reps, at least initially in camp. But, as noted above, Campbell unexpectedly was ready on Day 1 of camp, and Trotter had to share those reps.
In his two training camps with the Eagles, Trotter has looked like a tough, smart, instinctive linebacker, even if he is lacking in size and ideal athleticism. However, after Dean was ready to return from his injury, Trotter was buried on the depth chart behind Baun, Dean, and Campbell.
Still, Trotter has quietly done his job as a core special teamer, and in 2025 he led the team in special teams tackles.
• Jeremiah Trotter: 20
• Sydney Brown: 18
• Kylen Granson: 18
• Smael Mondon: 13
• Kelee Ringo: 13
If Dean does not return in 2026, Trotter would likely be the first linebacker off the bench should Baun or Campbell go down. If Dean returns, Trotter will probably be a special teams player only again in 2026. Stay.
Mondon was a fifth-round rookie in 2025. He had an encouraging training camp, a bad preseason game, a decent preseason game, and then he played in every real game as a rookie, almost exclusively on special teams. In total, he played 289 special teams snaps, and 14 snaps in the regular defense, all of which came in garbage time blowouts against the Giants, Raiders, and Commanders. He did not get on the field in the regular defense in the "resting starters" game against the Commanders Week 18. Those snaps went to Campbell and Trotter.
Including the playoffs, as noted above, Mondon finished tied for fourth on the team in special teams tackles in 2025.
The Eagles aren't very likely to select an off-ball linebacker in the 2026 draft, so Mondon's roster spot should be safe. Stay.
Green = Stay
Red = Go
Blue = Will be back in camp in 2025, but a 53-man roster spot is not a given.
| Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| QB | Jalen Hurts (stay) | Tanner McKee (stay) | Sam Howell (go) | |
| RB | Saquon Barkley (stay) | Tank Bigsby (stay) | Will Shipley (stay) | A.J. Dillon (go) |
| WR | A.J. Brown (go) | DeVonta Smith (stay) | Jahan Dotson (go) | Darius Cooper (back in camp) |
| WR (cont.) | Britain Covey (back in camp) | Johnny Wilson (back in camp) | ||
| TE/FB | Dallas Goedert (go) | Grant Calcaterra (go) | Kylen Granson (go) | Cameron Latu (back in camp) |
| TE/FB (cont.) | Ben VanSumeren (back in camp) | |||
| OT | Lane Johnson (stay) | Jordan Mailata (stay) | Fred Johnson (go) | Cameron Williams (back in camp) |
| OT (cont.) | Myles Hinton (back in camp) | |||
| OG | Landon Dickerson (stay) | Tyler Steen (stay) | Matt Pryor (go) | |
| C | Cam Jurgens (stay) | Brett Toth (back in camp) | Drew Kendall (stay) | Willie Lampkin (back in camp) |
| ED | Jaelan Phillips (stay) | Nolan Smith (stay) | Jalyx Hunt (stay) | Brandon Graham (stay) |
| ED (cont.) | Josh Uche (go) | Azeez Ojulari (go) | Ogbo Okoronkwo (go) | |
| iDL | Jalen Carter (stay) | Jordan Davis (stay) | Moro Ojomo (stay) | Byron Young (stay) |
| iDL (cont.) | Ty Robinson (stay) | |||
| OBLB | Zack Baun (stay) | Nakobe Dean (go) | Jihaad Campbell (stay) | Jeremiah Trotter (stay) |
| OBLB (cont.) | Smael Mondon (stay) | |||
| CB | ||||
| S | ||||
| K/P/LS |
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