Nakobe Dean injury update raises questions over Eagles’ odd timing

The Philadelphia Eagles appear ready to add yet another young weapon to their defense this week.

Middle linebacker Nakobe Dean, out of action since January after tearing the patellar tendon in his left knee, resumed practicing with the team last week and logged a full practice on Friday. 

On a short week, with the Eagles preparing to face the New York Giants on Thursday Night Football, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio did not shoot down the idea of Dean getting added back to the active roster prior to kickoff.

“There’s a chance he could be active this week. Not positive yet. Because he hasn’t had any game (reps), no training camp, it wouldn’t be a full-time role yet.”

Dean, nearing a return to the field, is great news for an Eagles defense that’s been bolstered in the second level by Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell. The fact that Dean — who enjoyed a career year in 2024 for the Eagles with 128 total tackles — can comfortably work his way back into the lineup behind Campbell over the next month represents a best-case scenario all around.

The Eagles have been less dominant on defense to start the 2025 season, but linebacker play has not been the problem. Getting Dean back feels more like a luxury at this point, and fans are right to question why the team would bring him back on a short week — especially entering a game at MetLife Stadium.

Eagles face unavoidable Thursday Night Football problem that has fans rightfully worried

For a player less than nine months removed from knee surgery, a trip to East Rutherford to play on the Giants’ brutal turf field is not exactly what the doctor ordered.

Concerns over the playing surface at MetLife Stadium are nothing new. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, at least 15 players have suffered knee ligament or Achilles tears there since the 2020 season. The stadium installed new turf prior to the 2023 season, but the ongoing issue rose to the fore once again last week after star wide receiver Malik Nabers tore his meniscus during a Giants home win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

“One executive from an opposing team said this week that, due to the FieldTurf playing surface, his players are "petrified" of playing at MetLife,” Schefter wrote. “The executive added that if a player is nursing an injury, he might be less apt to play through it for a game at MetLife.”

Dean was a full participant at practice for the Eagles on Tuesday, but let’s not get the team in trouble for something it hasn’t done just yet. Dean hasn’t even logged a full week of practice yet, and the team’s upcoming mini bye week feels like the perfect runway.

The Eagles have been a hard team to figure out at times over these first five weeks of the regular season. If they really decide to give Dean his first game reps in nine months inside a literal house of horrors for knee injuries, over saving him for a Week 7 showdown with the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium — it’s fair for Eagles fans to question every single decision maker in the organization.