Eagles Place Nakobe Dean On IR, Sign An Old Friend To Practice Squad

The Philadelphia Eagles had to bolster their linebacker depth after losing Nakobe Dean for the remainder of the postseason.
Dec 15, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean (17) before action against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Dec 15, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean (17) before action against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
In this story:

PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles brought back Nick Morrow, one of their starting linebackers from just a season ago. The seven-year veteran was added to the team’s practice squad in a flurry of moves on Tuesday.

Receiver Parris Cambell took Nakobe Dean’s place on the 53-man roster when the Eagles placed Dean on injured reserve after a knee injury suffered in the wildcard win over the Green Bay Packers. This is Campbell’s third visit to the active roster this season.

"We sure will miss him," said head coach Nick Sirianni about Dean. "He has made big plays all year long. One that comes to everyone's mind is going to be the interception against Jacksonville to seal the game, but he had a couple plays in (Sunday's )game that were just outstanding, that set the tone of how we were going to play. The fourth play of the game, the way he comes down – I think the fourth play of the game yesterday really shows you who Nakobe Dean is. He identifies the play lightning fast, and that's because of how much time he spends working on this game.

"He loves football, and how much time he spends working on this game of football and being able to diagnose plays. He lights up the puller with just that physical toughness play. You saw everything of who Nakobe is in that play. Bam, good football IQ. Boom, physical toughness.

"Yeah, we'll miss him, that's for sure. Got a lot of faith in the guys in that room, but we'll for sure miss Nakobe. He's had a really good year."

Eagles WR Parris Campbell
Eagles WR Parris Campbell / John McMullen/Eagles on SI

Campbell was added to the roster on Oct. 12 after using his full allotment of three practice squad elevations earlier in the season. He was released 10 days later and then came back. Campbell was released just 10 days after his initial signing to the roster but brought back to the practice squad.

On Nov. 30, he was added again to the roster but lasted just a couple of days before getting cut again on Dec. 2.

The yo-yo ride continued when he came back to the practice squad on Dec. 4. His practice squad allotment refilled when the postseason began and was elevated for last week’s playoff win over the Green Bay Packers. He did not see any action, however.

Campbell has made six catches for 30 yards with a touchdown this season.

In addition to Morrow, the Eagles also added receiver Elijah Cooks to the practice squad, and released receiver Joseph Ngata from the PS.

Morrow spent one year in Philadelphia and was one of their top tacklers a season ago with 95. He opened eyes in Week 4 when he notched three sacks, 10 tackles, and a forced fumble in s 34-31 win over the Washington Commanders.

He signed in the offseason with the Buffalo Bills, but he was mostly a special team player in the 11 games he played with them. Morrow played just 44 snaps on defense but logged 182 on special teams.

He was released on Dec. 7 and brought back two weeks later, but was waived again on Jan. 2.

More NFL: Vic Fangio Discusses Eagles Linebacker Plans With Nakobe Dean Injured


Published
Ed Kracz
ED KRACZ

Ed Kracz has been covering the Eagles full-time for over a decade and has written about Philadelphia sports since 1996. He wrote about the Phillies in the 2008 and 2009 World Series, the Flyers in their 2010 Stanely Cup playoff run to the finals, and was in Minnesota when the Eagles secured their first-ever Super Bowl win in 2017. Ed has received multiple writing awards as a sports journalist, including several top-five finishes in the Associated Press Sports Editors awards.