Nakobe Dean takes up ballet: Eagles LB using dance to aid injury recovery
Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean is facing an arduous recovery from a torn patellar tendon he suffered in the team's wild-card round win over the Green Bay Packers.
The 24-year-old is using every resource possible to come back from that injury stronger. That includes training with a contemporary ballet company in Philadelphia, BalletX, to aid in his rehab.
Dean made it clear that he didn't take up ballet because of a deep-seeded desire to dance.
"I'm not interested in ballet," Dean told NBC10's Brendan Brightman and Matt DeLucia. "I'm in it for the mobility work and the stretching."
Thus far, Dean believes his training is paying off.
"There's way more flexibility, of course. Way more mobility," Dean said. "It's definitely something that's helping with my rehab."
"You just feel a change immediately," he added. "After you stretch, you're not as tight or as sore."
Dean isn't the first NFL player to take up dance to improve his abilities on the gridiron. Lynn Swann and Herschel Walker both notably took ballet classes during their Hall of Fame careers. More recently, players like Steve McClendon (ballet) and Matthew Judon (tap) have also taken up dance to help with their footwork and flexibility.
So, while Dean insists he is "a football player through and through," he believes taking up ballet is going to help him not only in his recovery, but also his development as a player.
"My whole thing is trying to be the absolute best version of myself. For me, that's greatness," Dean said. "If I'm striving to be that everyday, and doing whatever it takes to be that."