Eagles Sign LB Depth After Nakobe Dean Injury

The Philadelphia Eagles added some depth at the linebacker position following an injury to Nakobe Dean.

The Philadelphia Eagles were forced to add some depth at linebacker after starting linebacker Nakobe Dean suffered an injury in their 25-20 win at the New England Patriots on Sunday. 

The Eagles signed Nicholas Morrow to the active roster and Rashaan Evans to the practice squad ahead of their Thursday Night Football matchup with the Minnesota Vikings. 

Dean suffered a right-foot injury in his first career NFL start, forcing him to be placed on Injured Reserve and miss multiple weeks. He looked sharp in his first start, recording seven tackles before leaving the game. 

Morrow was on Philadelphia's practice squad and was elevated to the active roster after Dean was placed on IR. This will be his sixth NFL season and the fourth team that he has made an appearance for. In five seasons, he has started in 46 NFL games and appeared in 79. 

Evans is coming off a solid season with the Atlanta Falcons in which he recorded 159 tackles, six tackles for loss and two sacks. He is a former first-round pick, as he was drafted No. 22 overall by the Tennessee Titans in the 2018 NFL Draft. He brings starting experience to the linebacking group, having started in 67 of his 76 NFL games. 

The rest of the Eagles depth at linebacker consists of Zach Cunningham and Christian Elliss, who both played against the Patriots, although neither inspired extreme confidence in their ability to hold down the position. 

Philadelphia has a short turnaround this week, playing in its home opener against the Vikings on Thursday night at 8:15 p.m. With the linebacking group already thin, the Eagles could struggle to defend Minnesota tight end T.J. Hockenson in the passing game.