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When the Philadelphia Eagles officially announced their initial 53-man roster, one notably absent name was Nakobe Dean, the team’s long-time starting linebacker who suffered a torn patellar tendon in the playoffs last season and spent the summer rehabbing.
Fortunately, the Eagles weren’t moving on from Dean, giving the reins to 2025 first-round pick Jihaad Campbell with Day 3 picks Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Smael Mondon Jr., but because he wouldn’t be available to play during the first month of the season, the expectation was that the Georgia product would begin the year on the PUP list, removing his availability for the first month of the season.
However, in an Instagram post shortly after the roster was announced, Dean let it be known that Week 5 very well might be in play, with the potential to take the field for the Eagles against the Denver Broncos now very much on the table.
Looks like based off of Nakobe Dean’s IG story that the PUP list will soon be announced by the Eagles.
Would be eligible to return Week 5 vs the Broncos pic.twitter.com/5xtWs0qsgi
— The Philly Special (@thePHIspecial) August 26, 2025
After turning in his best professional season with the Eagles in 2024, making good on the pre-draft hype many championed around the collegiate Bulldog, Dean’s season came to an end in a brutal way, even if he earned a nice piece of jewelry to ease the burden.
While only time will tell what his future holds in Philadelphia, as Campbell and Baun seem like they could be locked into the middle of Vic Fangio’s defense for years to come, adding back another quality starter who was a leader on the field last year can’t hurt, especially since this year’s first round pick could be used as a weapon as a Micah Parsons-style rusher.
With plenty of optionality and three players who deserve major playing time moving forward, who knows? Maybe the Eagles’ already formative defense will become all the more so with front-seven optionality as soon as Week 5, which, fittingly enough, will take place at Lincoln Financial Field.
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