With the Philadelphia Eagles' offseason already here, linebacker Nakobe Dean has quietly become one of the more difficult free-agent decisions the team will have to make. If we’re talking about talent, there’s no debate that Dean is a really good player. Dean has shown that he can play at a high level when healthy.
The problem, as CBS Sports’ Garrett Podell recently outlined, is that availability has been a constant issue throughout his career.
Podell wrote about Dean’s free agency and why teams may struggle to value him in free agency.
“Injuries are what's held Nakobe Dean back his whole career. He fell to the third round in the draft because of a pectoral strain and played just 34 defensive snaps as a rookie. Dean found his footing in 2024 with 15 starts, but his postseason run ended in the opening round because of a torn patellar tendon that held him out for the first six games of 2025. He also missed the Eagles' Week 17 defeat against the Buffalo Bills.
“Ability is not the issue here. Availability is. That makes his free agent market murky,” he wrote.
When he’s on the field, the former Georgia standout has shown why many consider him a player who can make a real impact on an elite defense. His 2024 season, in particular, looked like a turning point, but then he was injured for a lot of the 2025 campaign.
For front offices, that history can’t be ignored, especially for a player who will likely get a decent deal due to what he’s been able to do on the defensive side of the football in his career.
For Dean, free agency represents both opportunity and risk. Teams that believe they can manage his injury or trust their medical staff could view him as a great player with more to unlock in his career. Others will likely see too much uncertainty, deciding to let him go.
For the Eagles, Dean knows the defense, the locker room, and the expectations, but Philadelphia has shown in recent years that it is willing to move on quickly if availability becomes an issue, regardless of who the player is.