Nakobe Dean Will Miss “Multiple Weeks” With Foot Injury
Nakobe Dean was supposed to be a big part of the Eagles’ offense this year. From early on, he was established as one of the starting linebackers. And then they gave him the green dot, meaning he is the guy in charge of relaying the play calls to the rest of the defense when he is on the field. But not they may be without him for a few weeks. Ian Rapoport is reporting he will miss multiple weeks with a foot injury he suffered in Sunday’s win over the 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
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The news is not too surprising. Nakobe Dean left the game with a foot injury and then was wearing a walking boot after the game. All things considered, it is probably good news. He may be able to avoid going on the IR, and it seems like he will be back within a few weeks, provided there are no setbacks.
But even those few weeks could hurt them. Dean was not exactly playing at a high level before the injury, but there were high hopes coming into the season. he was a dominant force at LB for Georgia. And the Eagles were already light at LB, with just 3 guys, including Dean, on the 53-man roster. After him, they have Zach Cunningham, who played 88% of the snaps on Sunday, and Christian Elliss. Elliss took his place not just as the other LB, but also as the green dot. And the expectation should be he will continue to wear that green dot and starting until Dean can return.
The Eagles do have Ben VanSumeran and Kyron Johnson on the practice squad. They also added former 1st round pick Rashaan Evans to their practice squad following the news. Any of them could be one of the two Practice Squad call-ups on game day. But that would mean the Eagles would have to move either Arryn Siposs or Britain Covey to the 53-man roster because they were the call-ups on Sunday. Going into game day with just 2 active Linebackers would be too risky, so there will have to be some move by Thursday just to have some insurance at Linebacker.
Hopefully, for the Eagles, Nakobe Dean gets back soon. Because even if he does struggle, they are in a bad situation without him on the field.