Nov 16, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean (17) reacts against the Detroit Lions during the second half at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Eagles Face Potential Loss of Nakobe Dean

Originally posted on Philadelphia Eagles on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Jan 24, 2026 10:20 AM ET

If the Philadelphia Eagles could simply run it back on defense, that would be great. But unfortunately, that is not the case.

The Eagles have a handful of pending free agents, including linebacker Nakobe Dean, trade deadline pickup Jaelan Phillips and safety Reed Blankenship. Philadelphia has a boatload of money tied up in the offense and has been fortunate to build a stellar defense with plenty of rookie contracts. Now, those deals are starting to come up. Dean and Blankenship are due new deals and guys like Jalen Carter or Jordan Davis could be in line for extensions.

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All in all, it will be a tough offseason of decisions for Philadelphia. ESPN's Tim McManus specifically mentioned Dean as someone who could be impacted by the crunch.

The Eagles have decisions to make

"The Eagles face the prospect of losing both Brown and tight end Dallas Goedert, who took a pay cut to remain in Philly last season and went on to obliterate his previous high by scoring 11 touchdowns," McManus wrote. "He enters free agency with some momentum and he's not alone. Other notable Eagles free agents include linebacker Nakobe Dean, edge Jaelan Phillips and safety Reed Blankenship. ...

"But there are a number of defensive players eligible for new contracts including defensive tackles Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis and edge Nolan Smith Jr., and others like corners Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, as well as edge Jalyx Hunt who soon will be. With many big pay days on the horizon, the front office won't be able to keep everybody. That could make it tough to re-sign Dean. He is a team leader and a standout in the middle of Fangio's defense but has dealt with his share of injuries and faces the reality that the team spent a first-round pick on linebacker Jihaad Campbell last season."

After the season ended, Dean made it known that he would like to stick around.

"My expectation is, I mean, God's going to handle it," Dean said. "I'm excited, yeah...Of course, I think everybody knows I want to be in Philly. I don't want to go nowhere."

But with depth at the position and what should be a big payday coming, could he be on his way out of town?

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

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