September 30, 2025
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
Nakobe Dean played his first defensive snaps of the season against the Vikings and will probably see more time Sunday against the Giants.
During his Tuesday morning press conference, Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said linebacker Nakobe Dean would begin practicing "either this week or next week."
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. However, in the Eagles' Wild Card win over the Packers, Dean tore a patellar tendon, which is an extremely serious injury, as our Evan Macy laid out back in January. That ended his season.
"He played great last year," Fangio told reporters on Tuesday. "Besides being the signal caller guy and being a leader — you can't be a leader if you don't play good — he played great for us last year."
Dean started 2025 training camp on the PUP list, and remained on PUP to begin the season, ensuring that he would miss at least the first four games. Whenever Dean returns, his role on the team is unclear.
Short term, it could be difficult getting Dean on the field, as Zack Baun is a star player and Jihaad Campbell has been a very good player through the first four games of his rookie season.
"We'll see when we get there," Fangio said. "We're not there yet."
Fangio shot down the idea of moving Campbell to the edge to make room for Dean.
"Not right now," he said.
Long-term, Dean is only under contract through this season. If he hadn't suffered such a serious injury, he would have been a candidate for an early contract extension this past offseason. Baun is under contract through 2027. Campbell is under contract through at least the 2028 season, plus a fifth-year option in 2029.
Dean is going to want to start after his productive 2024 season, but if Baun and Campbell ball out this season — as they have so far — that opportunity might not be with the Eagles in 2026 and beyond. Add in that the Eagles also may have good, young depth in Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Smael Mondon Jr., and that complicates Dean's future with the team even further.
But certainly, if Dean can resume practicing this week, it's never a bad thing to have yet another good player on the roster.
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