Eagles' devastating injury news could end up meaning bigger role for rookie
The Philadelphia Eagles received some devasting injury news on Monday morning surrounding starting linebacker Nakobe Dean. According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Dean suffered a torn patellar tendon in his right knee during the Eagles' 22-10 wild card win over the Green Bay Packers and will miss the rest of Philly's playoff run. Dean's presence […]
The Philadelphia Eagles received some devasting injury news on Monday morning surrounding starting linebacker Nakobe Dean.
According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Dean suffered a torn patellar tendon in his right knee during the Eagles' 22-10 wild card win over the Green Bay Packers and will miss the rest of Philly's playoff run.
Dean's presence will be felt and missed, but it could mean a bigger role is on the way for rookie linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr.
Trotter Jr., the son of former Eagles All-Pro linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, was drafted in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft out of Clemson and spent the majority of his rookie season developing behind Zack Baun and Dean.
With the Eagles opting to rest their starts in Week 18 against the New York Giants, Trotter Jr. logged his first start where he did an outstanding job.
He finished the 20-13 win second on the team with 11 tackles. He also allowed four catches for just 21 yards for a 79.2 passer rating allowed in coverage.
"I think he's done an unbelievable job transforming his body, getting in great shape," head coach Nick Sirianni said of Trotter Jr.'s performance in the Eagles' regular season finale "He's obviously a very instinctive player — the reason we drafted him in the first place. Fun to watch him fly around and make plays today."
Prior to that game, Trotter Jr. had not taken many meaningful snaps on defense (104 snaps), though he saw plenty of action on special teams throughout the year (295 snaps). In fact, he logged his first career fumble recovery on the opening kickoff of the Eagles' playoff win against Green Bay.
Veteran linebacker Oren Burks is, of course, the next man up behind Dean, but don't be surprised if the Eagles give the rookie linebacker more looks after what they've seen from him over the last two weeks.
