Eagles fans were given another reason to smile about on Tuesday afternoon when the team announced that they had opened the 21-day practice window for Nakobe Dean.
Nakobe Dean preparing for his Eagles return
The Eagles have been without their starting MIKE linebacker since the third quarter of week 1 where he went down with an injury. Prior to that, the Georgia product has been a key component in the defense, amassing 7 tackles.
Nicholas Morrow has enjoyed mixed success in replacing Nakobe Dean. He had 3 sacks in the teams’ week 4 win, but left a lot of meat on the bone one week later in a game that highlighted the need for a linebacker with Dean’s upside.
We haven’t yet seen how Nakobe Dean can handle a full starting workload, but the initial signs were promising after a rookie campaign that contained several flashes.
The 21-day window gives an estimated return time of October 31st, which would be a couple of days before Philly’s home clash with the Dallas Cowboys. He could end up returning beforehand, but the team may well want to be conservative, especially if Nicholas Morrow does take some steps forward.
All in all, it’s great that Nakobe Dean is on the mend and will be back by the midseason mark. His return will go a long way in negating some of the losses sustained by this Eagles defense.
AP Photo/Ron Schwane
