For the second time this year, Nakobe Dean is headed for Injured Reserve.
The Eagles on Thursday placed Dean on IR after he suffered a Lisfranc foot sprain in the Eagles’ win over the Cowboys. Although the Eagles have not ruled out his return, this is almost always a season-ending injury.
This is Dean’s second significant injury this year. He suffered a foot injury in the opener in New England and missed the next four games.
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In parts of five games, he had half a sack, 30 tackles, two tackles for loss and a quarterback hit.
Dean, the Eagles’ 3rd-round pick last year, was expected to be the Eagles’ defensive field general from his middle linebacker spot this year and play every snap. But the combination of his uneven performance and solid play by newcomers Nicholas Morrow and Zach Cunningham meant Dean found himself in an unusual linebacker rotation the last few games.
Instead of never leaving the field, Dean only played 102 of a possible 186 snaps in the three games he was healthy in between injuries. In those same three games, Cunningham played 149 and Morrow 82.
Dean technically would be eligible to return for the Seahawks game in Seattle on Dec. 17. In the past, a second IR visit was season-ending but that’s no longer the rule.
Philadelphia Eagles
With Dean on IR, the Eagles have an open roster spot. They will likely use it to activate right guard Cam Jurgens from Injured Rederse. The Eagles opened his practice window on Nov. 1, and he’s expected to return for the Chiefs game on Monday night in Kansas City. The Eagles opened the practice window for safety Justin Evans on Tuesday, so if they want to activate both they’d have to make an additional move. Perhaps releasing Josiah Scott or even moving Quez Watkins off IR and signing him to the practice squad, which would expose him to waivers.
With Dean on IR, the Eagles have three off-ball linebackers on the 53 - Cunningham, Morrow and Christian Ellis. They elevated undrafted rookie Ben VanSumeren last week and he made his NFL debut against the Cowboys and played 10 snaps on special teams.
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