Nakobe Dean injury update: Eagles LB feared to have 'significant' knee injury
The Philadelphia Eagles are looking to knock off the Green Bay Packers in the wild card round of the 2025 NFL playoffs, but they may have to do it without one of their top defensive players.
Linebacker Nakobe Dean suffered a knee injury in the second quarter of the Eagles vs. Packers game. It occurred after he tackled tight end Tucker Kraft for a three-yard loss on a screen pass.
Dean remained down after the play and was tended to by Philadelphia's medical staff. He required assistance getting off the field. He wasn't able to put much weight on his injured left knee while gingerly limping off.
Eventually, the Fox broadcast showed Dean being loaded onto a cart. He was then taken to the locker room for more tests on his injury.
The Eagles later announced that Dean had been ruled out for the game because of the injury.
Dean led the Eagles with six tackles before leaving the game with the injury. He was replaced by Oren Burks, who forced Keisean Nixon to fumble on the opening kickoff of the game, setting the Eagles up for their game-opening touchdown.
Dean racked up 128 tackles, three sacks and an interception for the Eagles during the regular season. He and Zach Baun formed one of the NFL's best linebacker tandems, so Philadelphia may miss Dean if his injury is of the long-term variety.
Nakobe Dean injury update
Dean "is feared to have suffered a significant knee injury" during the Eagles' 22-10 win over the Packers, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported on Monday. The Eagles linebacker is set to have an MRI of his knee, but the expectation is that Dean will miss the rest of the playoffs.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni was not asked about Dean's status after the contest. The third-year linebacker was spotted leaving Sunday's game on crutches and sporting a heavy brace on his injured left leg.
Dean's teammates also declined to comment on the severity of the injury but noted they were prepared to fill in for him as needed.
"We’re definitely playing for him out there," Burks said of Dean to the Associated Press. "We’re going to miss him. We don’t know what the situation is, but this is a next-man-up mentality."