Dean Down

Now back from the bye week, the Philadelphia Eagles made an expected move official on Thursday, placing Nakobe Dean on injured reserve with a lisfranc foot injury.

It is another health setback for the 22-year-old linebacker who entered training camp with expectations to man the middle of Sean Desai’s defense but has struggled to stay on the field.

Dean’s first stint on IR, also from a foot injury, came following the Week 1 win over the Patriots. He returned after four weeks in limited snaps splitting time with LB Nic Morrow, who impressed filling in for Dean initially.

This absence could be more lengthy, with Dean undergoing surgery according to his Instagram.

Morrow will once again take over as the middle linebacker and signal caller next to starter Zach Cunningham, while Christian Elliss moves to the top backup linebacker spot. This leaves the team with only three linebackers on the 53-man roster, though rookie Ben VanSumeren is on the practice squad with two eligible elevations left after making his debut in the team’s previous game.

The move opens a roster spot for Philadelphia, likely to bring either starting right guard Cam Jurgens or safety Justin Evans back to the 53.

Jurgens’ 21-day practice window opened prior to the Week 9 win over the Cowboys, but he was not officially activated after a week of limited practices, while Evans’ window opened up earlier in the week.

Both are likely to find their way to the active roster by Monday’s matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs with star tight end Dallas Goedert also expected to hit injured reserve due to a broken arm.

– Benjamin Paul is a staff writer for InsideTheBirds.com.