Out The Door

After losing prized free agent Jaelan Phillips, lured away by the Carolina Panthers with a four-year, $120 million contract early into Monday’s legal tampering window, the Eagles watched another defensive starter depart hours later.

The Las Vegas Raiders will reportedly sign linebacker Nakobe Dean, according to Dean’s agent, Mike McCartney. Other reports indicate the deal is for three-years and $36 million. In Las Vegas, Dean will join forces with former Georgia teammate, and fellow linebacker, Quay Walker. He’ll also reunite with position coach Ronell Williams, an assistant linebackers coach in Philadelphia recently hired to run the Raiders’ linebacker room.

Though Dean’s departure was expected with second-year pro Jihaad Campbell waiting in the wings, the loss presumably doesn’t make it any easier to stomach for the Eagles, the team that drafted Dean in the third round and developed him into one of the game’s most cerebral off-ball linebackers.

The team also saw an undeterred Dean overcome multiple debilitating injuries, only to return each time a superior version of himself. The respect and gratitude from the perspective of both Dean and the Eagles was apparent.

After four years with the Eagles, LB Nakobe Dean will take his talent to Las Vegas, a team that needs a culture changer.

Dean started 23 games for the Eagles the past two seasons, producing 183 tackles (16 for loss), seven sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and an interception over a span in which he teamed with fellow off-ball linebacker Zack Baun.

All told, Dean enjoyed an impactful, albeit injury plagued, Eagles career. He appeared in 47 games (27 starts). The 25-year-old served as the heartbeat of the unit and always had colorful specifics in mind when describing the defense’s identity, once illustrating his vision to me early in the 2024 season:

“I feel like we have a good tenacity and ferociousness to the game,” he said. “And kinda being nasty, like a junkyard defense. I kind of like that tough, gritty defense, like, we don’t care.”

He then expanded on the tone-setting mindset of a reconfigured Eagles defense.

“If we can’t walk, we gonna crawl,” he continued. “If we can’t crawl, we gonna f-ckin’ roll. If we can’t roll, we gonna bite at your ankles. A defense like that, it doesn’t matter.”

Whether on the field or off, Dean epitomized leadership. Following games, Dean would stand in front of his locker for a good half hour, entertaining questions from various waves of reporters until none remained. He answered each question candidly and thoughtfully and never ducked accountability.

Whenever turbulent times surfaced, Dean maintained a positive outlook. He led by example in every facet of the job. Dean was also a pillar in the community, his turkey drive around Thanksgiving and toy drive around Christmas serving as two prime examples. It’s hardly hyperbole to suggest the Raiders are adding a culture-setter to their building.

A third defensive starter departed shortly after Dean, with safety Reed Blankenship signing a reported three-year, $24.75 million deal to join the Houston Texans, per ESPN. Blankenship, an undrafted free agent who battled his way onto the Eagles’ roster in 2022, embodied perseverance. He began on special teams and eventually undertook some spot duty in the secondary before being entrenched as a starter. He didn’t dazzle with athleticism or range, but toughness, instincts and football intelligence.

A inspiring story of development, Blankenship is coming off a year in which he rolled up a career high in regular season snaps (1,008), essentially serving as the glue banding together a young secondary. While his game isn’t necessarily predicated on producing splash plays — Blankenship does boast a resume that includes nine interceptions — it’s the fundamentally sound consistency that prominently contributed to his emergence.

The 27-year-old, a starter in 50 of 56 games played, was also valued immensely by defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who entrusted Blankenship to take the wheel at arguably the most important position in his scheme.

In Houston, Blankenship complements a loaded secondary.

— Andrew DiCecco (@AndrewDiCecco) is a Staff Reporter/Content Producer for InsideTheBirds.com