The Eagles might have come away victorious in their bout with the Patriots, but it wasn’t pretty. Buried in the chaos of the game was a concerning injury for second-year linebacker Nakobe Dean. The Georgia product was spotted with a walking boot after the game and we now have some further clarity on the injury.
Nakobe Dean set to miss several weeks with foot injury
Ian Rapoport reported today that Dean is expected to miss a ‘few weeks’ and that a spot on injured reserve is possible. The good news is that the foot injury picked up by the linebacker doesn’t require surgery and he should be expected to return with plenty of games left to play.
Nakobe Dean left the game in the third quarter after getting tangled up in a tackle. He had been a key cog in Philadelphia’s defense up to that point, amassing 7 total tackles.
Whichever way you slice it, this still stings for the Eagles. This was supposed to be a big year for the Nakobe Dean, who has very much been given the green light to make the starting MIKE linebacker spot his own.
In his place, it likely means more starting experience for underdog Christian Eliss, although the MIKE spot isn’t his natural position. The Eagles could move someone like Terrell Edmunds down into the box or get creative with how they replace Nakobe Dean, but just like his knock in training camp, it has highlighted a glaring weakness on this team.
It will be interesting to see what Howie Roseman does in this situation. Will he go out and acquire a linebacker via trade, or simply trust someone like Eliss to hold the fort?
He won’t have long to decide, with the Eagles playing host to the Vikings on Thursday for their week 2 clash.
Photo by John Jones/Icon Sportswire
