Oct 5, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jihaad Campbell (30) and linebacker Zack Baun (53) against the Denver Broncos at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Eagles Address Jihaad Campbell Decision Vs. Bears

Originally posted on Philadelphia Eagles on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Dec 3, 2025 5:00 PM ET

The Philadelphia Eagles suffered their second straight loss this past Friday against the Chicago Bears.

It was a tough game overall for the Eagles, who lost 24-15 to drop their record to 8-4 on the season. Much has been said about the game overall and there were plenty of takeaways. But one aspect of the game that came somewhat as a surprise was the fact that rookie linebacker Jihaad Campbell didn't get a single defensive snap in the game for the first time in his young career.

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Campbell has quickly gone from someone playing almost every defensive snap for the Eagles, to a role player. That's in large part due to the return and ascension of fellow linebacker Nakobe Dean. The 24-year-old has been great this season, but Campbell was playing well too. It's not surprising his number of snaps has gone down with Dean's thriving, but zero defensive snaps was surprising.

Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio addressed the decision while speaking to the media on Wednesday.

Vic Fangio spoke about the Jihaad Campbell

"No," Fangio said when asked if there was anything to Campbell not playing any defensive snaps against the Bears. "Probably should've gotten him in there for a few. That'd be my fault there. But, you know, obviously with the run game the way it was happening, that's been a strength of (Nakobe Dean). We wanted to leave him in there."

Will Fangio try to get Campbell snaps moving forward"

"Yeah," Fangio said. "Probably."

Overall, Campbell appeared on the field against the Bears for six special teams snaps and zero defensive snaps. It was actually tied for his most special teams snaps in a game. Before the Bears game, Campbell's fewest number of defensive snaps in a game was 11 the week before against the Dallas Cowboys.

At the end of the day, this is a good problem to have. Philadelphia has too many talented linebackers, not the other way around. With Dean and Zack Baun thriving, we likely won't see a massive role for Campbell like at the beginning of the season. But he'll still play a role for this team and is a great player to have for the future of this defense.

This article first appeared on Philadelphia Eagles on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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