Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean is eligible to return to practice this week after being sidelined for the first four games of the 2025 NFL season due to a knee injury and placed on the PUP list.

Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was asked if Dean would officially be returning to practice ahead of their Week 5 matchup against the Denver Broncos, and while he couldn’t confirm, he didn’t rule out the possibility.

Fangio also sang some high praise for his performance last year.

 “Well, he played great last year,” Fangio said. “Besides being the signal caller guy and being a leader, you can’t be a leader if you don’t play good and he played great for us last year. As far as where he is at now, either this week or next week, he’ll start his practice window and then we’ll see where he is at.”

Nakobe Dean Already Projected His Week 5 Return

Dean had already projected he’d be ready to go by Week 5.

“See ya’ll in Week 5,” Dean wrote with a picture of him flexing in his Philly uniform on his Instagram story at the start of the season.

During last year’s playoff win over the Green Bay Packers, Dean went down with a torn patellar tendon in his left knee, which cut his season short and required surgery.

It marked Dean’s second major lower-body injury. Despite the setback from the practice field, Dean grinded through rehab all offseason. He even picked up ballet to help with his flexibility and movement.

Dean wrapped up the 2024 regular season with 128 tackles (80 solo), three sacks, nine tackles for loss, six QB hits, and a pick through 15 games. He was a key piece of the NFL’s top defense and played a major role in helping the Eagles take down the Kansas City Chiefs in a historic 40-22 Super Bowl LIX win.

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