Eagles ‘Boom-or-Bust’ Star Suddenly Linked to Packers

The Philadelphia Eagles are fortunate to have one of the deepest linebacker rooms in the National Football League. But that also is the reason why a fan favorite could end up playing elsewhere in 2026.

Nakobe Dean is a pending free agent and all of the signs have been pointing to an exit. The Philadelphia Inquirer's Jeff McLane said that Dean is "good as gone," for example.

The Eagles have Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell in the mix, which makes the idea of retaining Dean difficult. Baun was the fifth-highest graded linebacker in football in 2025, per PFF, at 83. Campbell was the 13th-highest linebacker at 76.2, despite having his playing time cut. Whoever lands Dean is going to be getting a high-impact player. ESPN's Aaron Schatz predicted that it will be the Green Bay Packers who get him.

"Green Bay Packers," Schatz wrote. "LB Nakobe Dean (PHI). The Packers are probably going to let linebacker Quay Walker leave after they declined his fifth-year option, which means they need an option to play next to Edgerrin Cooper. Dean is still only 25 years old and arguably stronger than Walker in pass coverage. Dean had four sacks, two forced fumbles and 55 total tackles last season."

Where will Nakobe Dean sign?

Dec 14, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean (17) stands during the National Anthem before the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Dean is one of the most intriguing free agents hitting the market because of the fact that he's just 25 years old and is one of the better blitzing linebackers in football, but he's also had injury issues in the past. That's why NFL.com had him on a list of 11 "boom-or-bust" pending free agents.

"Over four seasons, Dean has played at least 80 percent of the Eagles' defensive snaps in 17 career games — essentially one full season," NFL.com's Matt Okada wrote. "In those contests, he’s logged 146 tackles (11 for loss), 5.0 sacks and three takeaways. Strong numbers. In 2024, when he started 15 games for the Super Bowl champions, Dean finished second on the team with 128 tackles. The former third-rounder, who played minimally on defense as a rookie, has also missed 25 games in his four seasons (including playoffs), mostly due to injury. A chest injury led to his draft slide in 2022, he had a foot injury in 2023 and a knee injury in the 2024 playoffs, and he dealt with a hamstring issue late in 2025.

"Now at the end of his rookie contract, Dean will be a high-risk, potentially high-reward free agent linebacker who is excellent as a blitzer and against the run, but who also needs to stay on the field to make a significant impact."

He's not wrong. When healthy, Dean has looked like a star. He's unfortunately had some bad luck in the health department, though.