Eagles' Nakobe Dean expected to miss multiple weeks with foot injury suffered vs. Patriots, per reports

[time2rock]

Eagles' Nakobe Dean expected to miss multiple weeks with foot injury suffered vs. Patriots, per reports

The linebacker was making his first career start Sunday

 

By Cody Benjamin

 

The Eagles escaped Foxborough with a win on Sunday, but they didn't escape unscathed. Starting linebacker Nakobe Dean is expected to miss multiple weeks after leaving Week 1's game against the Patriots early with a foot injury, per NFL Media.

A 2022 third-round draft pick, Dean was making his first career start in New England. The Georgia product logged seven tackles, ranking among team leaders, before exiting. He was later seen leaving the locker room in a walking boot, and while he won't require surgery for his injury, NBC Sports Philadelphia reports he's set to miss "at least" a few games, "maybe more."

A trip to injured reserve (IR) is likely in the cards; that would ensure at least a four-game absence but free up a roster spot.

In the meantime, ESPN is reporting that the Eagles signed former Titans' first-round pick, Rashaan Evans, to their practice squad. They were already thin at the position, entering 2023 with only former Texans and Titans starter Zach Cunningham and third-year reserve Christian Elliss on the 53-man roster.

Philadelphia also has Nicholas Morrow and Ben VanSumeren on the practice squad; both are candidates to be promoted for Thursday's Week 2 game against the Vikings.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/eagles-nakobe-dean-expected-to-miss-multiple-weeks-with-foot-injury-suffered-vs-patriots-per-reports/

[PoconoDon]

I hope he's not going to be prone to injuries. The LB'er depth is not stellar

[EaglesAddict]

Maybe one day Howie will get drunk on draft day and take a blue-chip LB

[time2rock]

15 minutes ago, EaglesAddict said:

Maybe one day Howie will get drunk on draft day and take a blue-chip LB

Since 2010 when Howie was first promoted to GM he has only drafted 3 LBs before day 3: Nakobe Dean (3rd rd, 2022), Davion Taylor (3rd rd, 2020), and Mychal Kendricks (2nd rd, 2012).  So I don't get my hopes up that the pattern will change any time soon (even though we could really use a legit playmaker in the middle of the defense).  Fingers crossed we find one on day 2 next year!

[EaglesAddict]

48 minutes ago, time2rock said:

Since 2010 when Howie was first promoted to GM he has only drafted 3 LBs before day 3: Nakobe Dean (3rd rd, 2022), Davion Taylor (3rd rd, 2020), and Mychal Kendricks (2nd rd, 2012).  So I don't get my hopes up that the pattern will change any time soon (even though we could really use a legit playmaker in the middle of the defense).  Fingers crossed we find one on day 2 next year!

I get their philosophy with positions they prioritize and in general I agree.  But damn, give some love to the LB position once in a while...and the Safety position too.  

A great DL is easily negated if QBs can routinely find guys wide open in the short areas of the field quickly....which continues to be a problem seemingly every year and could actually be worse this year given our worse-than-usual LB corps.

[time2rock]

3 minutes ago, EaglesAddict said:

I get their philosophy with positions they prioritize and in general I agree.  But damn, give some love to the LB position once in a while...and the Safety position too.  

A great DL is easily negated if QBs can routinely find guys wide open in the short areas of the field quickly....which continues to be a problem seemingly every year and could actually be worse this year given our worse-than-usual LB corps.

No argument here ... and completely agree with everything in your response.  Hopefully Brown is the real deal and Blank continues to develop solidifying that position.  

[EaglesAddict]

4 minutes ago, time2rock said:

No argument here ... and completely agree with everything in your response.  Hopefully Brown is the real deal and Blank continues to develop solidifying that position.  

Yeah, I actually have high hopes for a Brown and Blank Safety tandem of the future.  But I'm not quite feeling so optimistic about Dean at LB.  Would be nice to actually get to see him play, but therein is the problem.  Maybe that's why he was still there in the 3rd round last year

[time2rock]

9 minutes ago, EaglesAddict said:

Yeah, I actually have high hopes for a Brown and Blank Safety tandem of the future.  But I'm not quite feeling so optimistic about Dean at LB.  Would be nice to actually get to see him play, but therein is the problem.  Maybe that's why he was still there in the 3rd round last year

I still have high hopes for him ... he was a very good player in college.  I think this was just a case of a most  unfortunate incident with the injury in his first game (as a starter) in much the same way it was super unfortunate for Jets fans to see Rodgers go down during his first drive wearing one of their unis.  But regardless of whether he turns out to be a good player for us, we still need more around him.  Cunningham and Elliss would be decent depth players but you really don't want them starting.  Who knows about Elliss though ... maybe he develops into a nice player here.  Time will tell.