Vic Fangio gave Eagles fans some good news Tuesday morning, with the status of 2022 third-round pick Nakobe Dean.
Fangio stated that Dean’s practice window will open up either this week or next, allowing the Eagles to begin a timeline for his return to the field. Dean has been on PUP as he rehabs from patellar knee surgery.
Great news as Nakobe Dean is one step closer to being back on the field
Dean injured his knee during the Eagles’ NFC Wild Card game against the Packers back in January. Dean was arguably playing his best football of his career, finishing the regular season with 128 tackles and three sacks in 15 games.
The news of a possible return for Dean comes just in time as the Eagles currently deal with Nolan Smith, who recently landed on injured reserve. The Eagles have pieced together a competent linebacking corps with the emergence of Jihaad Campbell, strong play of Josh Uche, and Jalyx Hunt. Zack Baun has also continued to provide value when needed off the edge, rounding out the room.
While many expect Dean to make an impact as soon as he is ready to play, Fangio did mention his role has not been carved out yet, taking a wait-and-see approach. The Eagles will also have to manage Dean’s injury, as being a PUP player differs from being on injured reserve.
The PUP is designated for players injured in football-related incidents prior to training camp, allowing them to participate in team activities but not engage in practice. The PUP list falls into two categories: active/PUP, where players count against the 90-man training camp roster (Dean was placed on this list on 7/23), and reserve/PUP, where they don’t but must miss the first four regular-season games (Dean was placed on this list on 8/26). Players can be activated to the main roster or move to reserve/PUP by the final 53-man roster cutdown date. If moved to reserve/PUP, they enter a practice window after four weeks, after which they must be activated within 21 days or miss the rest of the season.
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With the Eagles completing the first four games of the season, Dean now enters his 21-day window. If he is unable to be activated the former Georgia linebacker will be forced to miss the rest the season, creating a bit of uncertainty for the Philadelphia defense moving forward.
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