Philadelphia Eagles’ Nakobe Dean Headlines Revolving Defensive Door for Philly

Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean is expected back against the New York Jets on Sunday.

PHILADELPHIA - The unbeaten Philadelphia Eagles ruled out three defensive starters for North Jersey on Sunday when they are set to meet the Aaron Rodgers-less New York Jets, including star rookie defensive tackle Jalen Carter and Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay.

Tagging in to somewhat mitigate things for defensive coordinator Sean Desai will be veteran defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, who missed last week’s trip to Los Angeles after getting an epidural to deal with pain and his back, and Mike linebacker Nakobe Dean, who is expected to return after missing the prior four games with a foot injury.

Along with Carter, who injured his ankle in practice Wednesday and missed sessions on Thursday and Friday, and Slay (knee), safety Justin Evans, who was seen wearing a bulky knee brace this week and was placed on injured reserve Friday afternoon, meaning he will have to miss at least the next four games.

The final domino among the active players was the promotion of Bradley Roby from the practice squad to the 53-man roster and the veteran will be the slot corner moving forward.

The Eagles have until Saturday at 4 p.m ET to activate Dean off IR after starting his 21-day practice window this week.

Head coach Nick Sirianni intimated that was coming when asked by SI.com’s Eagles Today at his Friday morning press conference.

“He's looking like he's going to be there, and we're excited about that as a football team,” Sirianni said of Dean.

Speaking earlier in the week, Dean seemed confident he was ready to go ahead of one final test for the foot, noting he was working through “every movement as far as what I was doing this past week – running, drills, backpedaling and now putting in the final piece, striking guys and feeling that weight on your foot.”

Dean noted he needed to “make sure you’re OK with the weight on your foot.”

And that hurdle has been cleared.

“I’ve been doing that throughout the week, so they wouldn’t push me to be practicing if it wasn’t OK,” Dean said.

Nakobe Dean feels he's ready to return from a foot injury that cost him four games :: John McMullen/Eagles Today

While Nicholas Morrow has played well in Dean’s absence the Eagles are mindful of who their most talented linebacker is and while the organization would never admit to such a thing, working Dean back in against the 32nd-ranked passing offense in the NFL is a sound strategical decision in advance of facing the high-powered Miami Dolphins in Week 7.

The same could also hold true for removing the shrinkwrap from talented rookie safety Sydney Brown, who told SI.com's Eagles Today he is set to return from a hamstring injury on Sunday.

Brown was officially listed as questionable for the game.

As for Dean, Sirianni rarely speaks in absolutes so the phrasing of “he’s looking like he’s going to be there” is more meaningful than it might sound to outsiders.

“I think he worked so hard when he was gone just to stay around everything and to be around everything, and really made a push last week,” the coach said of Dean. “When I asked him if he wanted to be at that game last week, he emphatically said ‘yes, I want to be there.’

“So mentally I didn't feel like there was a big change of anything because he had worked so hard while he was gone. It was just the progression of the week, getting into individual periods, getting into team periods, and making sure that he was ready to go.”

Dean, meanwhile, is champing at the bit to return.

"I never missed a game in my life as far as football," Dean said. "...It was tough, but it’s football. Injuries are the worst part of any sport, but going through it, working, and glad to be back with the team."