Bills Named Best Landing Spot for Super Bowl Champion Linebacker in Free Agency

The Buffalo Bills could add a linebacker in free agency with experience as a champion in the NCAA as well as in the NFL.

Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

All eyes will be on the NFL Scouting Combine next week, with the annual event taking place in Indianapolis. The Buffalo Bills will be focused on which collegiate prospects could help them finally reach the Super Bowl in 2026, but that focus will quickly shift to free agency.

This year, free agency will kick off on March 11, with the legal tampering period beginning two days prior. Buffalo will have to make some moves to get under the salary cap, but general manager Brandon Beane has always found a way to make moves when he has to.

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One player he could free up space to pursue is Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean, who plays a position of need and has championship experience. He's also a great fit in Buffalo, according to PFF's Mason Cameron, who singled out the Bills as Dean's best landing spot.

"The Bills struggled to fit the run in 2025, ranking 28th in rushing success rate (33.1%) allowed. Their linebacking corps was a contributing factor, as the group's 27.3% negatively graded run-play rate ranked 30th. With Matt Milano‘s and Shaq Thompson’s contracts set to expire, it would be prudent for Buffalo to explore the 25-year-old former Eagles linebacker," Cameron wrote.

"After battling through a patellar tendon injury late in 2024 that cut short a breakout season, Dean returned to the field and continued to perform at a high level. The addition would give the Bills a plus run defender they’re in desperate need of, evidenced by Dean’s 96th-percentile run-stop percentage (10.3%) over the past two seasons. Dean would give new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard a chess piece to amplify his aggressive, blitz-heavy scheme after posting the second-highest PFF pass-rush grade among linebackers since 2024."

Nakobe Dean has a National Championship, and Super Bowl ring

Philadelphia Eagles LB Nakobe Dean reacts after the Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker misses a field goal attempt. | The Republic-Imagn Images

Dean was a third-round pick out of Georgia in 2022, after helping the Georgia Bulldogs win a National Championship. He continued to gain experience in championship games, playing in the Super Bowl during his rookie season.

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While Dean and the Eagles came up short against the Kansas City Chiefs that year, he does have a ring for their win in Super Bowl LIX. Dean, unfortunately, wasn't a part of that game after tearing his patellar tendon in January.

Dean has dealt with injuries throughout his career, which might give Buffalo a reason to be cautious. It could also help them sign him to a more affordable contract. It just depends if Beane wants to roll the dice.

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