The Philadelphia Eagles are fortunate that linebacker Jihaad Campbell turned in one of the more impressive preseasons by a rookie across the NFL, because it will be a while before Nakobe Dean is back on the field.
Dean, still working his way back from a torn patellar tendon in his left knee, suffered in the Eagles’ playoff victory over the Green Bay Packers back in January.
Tuesday, the Eagles announced that Dean will begin the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list, meaning he will miss at least the first four games of the regular season.
Dean’s injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for the former Georgia standout, who was in the midst of the most productive season of his career, posting 128 tackles, three sacks, one interception, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble and just seemed to be coming into his own in coordinator Vic Fangio’s defense.
While he won’t be stepping onto a football field until at least Week 5, NBC Sports Philadelphia reveals that Dean has adopted a bit of an unorthodox method to speed up his rehab. He’s begun taking ballet.
“There’s way more flexibility, of course. Way more mobility,” Dean said of the results of his ballet training. “It’s definitely something that’s helping with my rehab.”
“You just feel a change immediately. After you stretch, you’re not as tight or as sore,” he added.
Through his first three seasons, Dean has posted 171 total tackles with 3.5 sacks, one interception, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and four pass breakups.
Dean is entering the final year of his $5.2 million rookie contract, so he has much at stake in the final 12 games of the season beyond helping Philadelphia make a charge at a repeat championship.
Howie Roseman Breaks Silence on Kenyon Green Debacle
Mitchell Leff | Getty Philadelphia Eagles GM Howie Roseman has built one of the NFL’s deepest rosters, but could lack of depth at two key positions cast doubt on bright future?
Howie Roseman has made some incredible moves, building one of the NFL’s deepest and most talented rosters, with two Super Bowl rings on his finger and team capable of legitimately contending for a third.
Signing Saquon Barkley, during an era where running backs have largely been devalued was a masterstroke. Adding linebacker Zack Baun was one of the most pivotal moves to improve what became the NFL’s premier defense, in 2024. Then, there’s trading for A.J. Brown, drafting DeVonta Smith, and the likes of Jalen Carter, among others.
However, there’s one move that won’t be on Roseman’s Hall of Fame candidacy some day off in the future, and that is the trade that sent safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the Houston Texans in exchange for offensive guard Kenyon Green.
The Eagles released Green, as one of Philadelphia’s final roster cuts ahead of Week 1, after he failed to play his way into replacing Mekhi Becton, who departed via free agency this spring.
“In terms of Kenyon,” Roseman told reporters Tuesday. “Obviously he missed a bunch of time here, which hurt him. I think that when you come here and you play offensive line for the Philadelphia Eagles, understanding that how we want our offensive linemen to play with the fundamentals that [Offensive Line Coach] [Jeff] Stout[land] is teaching to make them compete at a high level, it takes time, and he ran out of time here. That doesn’t mean that he isn’t a guy that we’d want to work with if the opportunity presented itself. But again, we didn’t want to lose [S] Chauncey [C.J. Gardner-Johnson]. That was just some of the nature of the business.
“Sometimes when you do that, you’ve got to obviously find partners and do the best you can in those situations. So, not everything here is going to work out perfectly. I’m the first one to admit we will make some mistakes, but I promise you we’re going to keep shooting and we’re going to do our best to put together the best team that we possibly can for our team, for our fans, for our ownership.”
Roseman took a big swing, and it turned out to be a miss. How the Eagles‘ offensive line holds up this season, after Becton moved on and Green didn’t work out, especially given Landon Dickerson’s injury could be a concern to watch for Philadelphia.
Eagles Make Final Call on $5.2 Million, 171-Tackle Defender