Nakobe Dean Injury Scare Should Have Eagles Thinking

The Philadelphia Eagles are just not deep enough at off-ball linebacker.

PHILADELPHIA - Somehow after playing all of 34 defensive snaps as a rookie third-round pick, Philadelphia Eagles Mike linebacker Nakobe Dean has emerged as one of the most important players on the reigning NFC champions.

That thesis was validated on Thursday during the Eagles’ training camp practice at the NovaCare Complex when Dean was seen entering the injury tent during individual work.

The scare was quickly averted when a team source told SI.com’s Eagles Today that “He’s fine,” in reference to Dean.

Nonetheless, the second-year Georgia standout was held out of the rest of the session as a precautionary measure, something that highlighted Dean’s value to defensive coordinator Sean Desai’s defense.

Without the 2021 Butkus Award winner, Philadelphia’s starting linebackers were Christian Ellis and Nick Morrow with Shaun Bradley, Davion Taylor, and rookie undrafted free agent Ben VanSumeren mixing in from there.

In the spring, the Eagles tried moving Kyron Johnson from the edge to off-ball linebacker, something he did for a spell in college at Kansas but that worked so well that Johnson has been back to SAM linebacker exclusively for the summer despite the Eagles’ possessing more depth at that position than an Oscar-worthy drama.

The Philadelphia Inquirer’s E.J. Smith spotted rookie edge Nolan Smith, getting at least one rep off the ball Thursday and rehabbing defensive end Derek Barnett lined up as a 260-pound linebacker in the developmental period.

It’s unlikely those two strange developments were related to any kind of panic without Dean because the Eagles already understood nothing serious was going on with the projected quarterback of their defense.

It was, however, ironic that GM Howie Roseman walked Dean out of the injury tent and back to the sideline after the all-clear was given.

Perhaps the jolt of imagining life without Dean was enough for Roseman to realize he’s put a lot of eggs in an undersized linebacker’s basket who was red-flagged in the draft process by a number of teams due to the potential of a degenerative shoulder condition.

Most understood the Eagles needed more at linebacker before practice even started on Thursday and Dean’s absence for one morning should have made it crystal clear to the organization.

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-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen