Eagles Bring Back A Familiar Face To Help With Nakobe Dean Loss

Philadelphia is bringing back veteran LB Nicholas Morrow to the practice squad.
Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nicholas Morrow (41) celebrates after recovering a fumble as Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) reacts.
Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nicholas Morrow (41) celebrates after recovering a fumble as Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) reacts. / Denny Medley-Imagn Images
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PHILADELPHIA - The Eagles are bringing back a familiar face to add depth at linebacker after losing Nakobe Dean to a season-ending knee injury during Sunday's 22-10 Wild Card Weekend win over Green Bay.

Nicholas Morrow, who started 12 games for the Eagles in the 2023 season, is being brought back and signed to the practice squad.

Dean suffered a torn patellar tendon in his left knee during the second quarter against the Packers and was replaced by veteran LB3 Oren Burks with All-Pro Zack Baun taking over Dean’s role as the “green dot” and vocal leader of Vic Fangio’s defense.

Morrow will join undrafted rookie Dallas Gant on the PS as the supplement to Baun, Burks, and rookie Jeremiah Trotter Jr. on the 53-man roster.

Fangio didn’t rule out splitting reps with Burks and Trotter Jr. in place of Dean for the Divisional Round game against the Los Angeles Rams.

“It could be,” Fangio said when asked if it might be a mix of both players.

On Burks, Fangio noted that the veteran “is a good athlete, can run, he’s got experience playing. Good tackler as we saw on the opening kickoff. We like him.”

As for Trotter, Jr, one of the team’s fifth-round picks back in April, Fangio said that the rookie has “got a good future, and that future may be now. He’s got good instincts, really likes the game. He’s smart, he’s got a lot of good qualities.”

When asked why he was mulling a rotation to replace Dean, Fangio pointed to special teams and situations.

“Part if it is those two guys are on all special teams, so depending on the flow of the game,” the DC said. “Kind of like when Nakobe didn’t play against Dallas, I guess it was, they had a seven- or eight-play drive then we had a pick-six, then they got the ball right back and drove it for a nine-play drive and we went three and out, so we had a bunch of plays right in a row there in a short span. 

“So something like that might be a good time to sub them.”

One rule Fangio implemented in practice when Dean and Baun were the starters was that Burks and Trotter Jr. got reps with each starter in practice and not together because that's not how it would play out in a game. So Burks and Trotter Jr. have played with Baun in practice this year and both got work with the All-Pro in Week 17 against Dallas when Dean was out with an abdomen injury.

As for Morrow, he offers experience as an eighth-year player with 58 NFL starts. Last season Morrow had 95 tackles, three sacks, five passes defended, a forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, and a safety for the Eagles.

He spent this season with Buffalo, mainly helping on special teams with 182 snaps in 11 games before being released earlier this month. 

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John McMullen
JOHN MCMULLEN

John McMullen is a veteran reporter who has covered the NFL for over two decades. The current NFL insider for JAKIB Media, John is the former NFL Editor for The Sports Network where his syndicated column was featured in over 200 outlets including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Miami Herald. He was also the national NFL columnist for Today's Pigskin as well as FanRag Sports. McMullen has covered the Eagles on a daily basis since 2016, first for ESPN South Jersey and now for Eagles Today on SI.com's FanNation. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube.com. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey and part of 6ABC.com's live postgame show after every Eagles game. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen