The Philadelphia Eagles are getting Nakobe Dean back. The standout linebacker, who has been out since January after tearing his patellar tendon against the Packers in the Wild Card round, is making his season debut against the Giants on Thursday Night Football. This return couldn't have come at a better time, not only because the Eagles' defense needs a boost, but also because they could use him to increase his trade value.
Why would the Eagles need him to raise his trade value? Simply because they don't really need him anymore. Rookie Jihaad Campbell is off to a hot start, and Zack Baun has picked up where he left off last season. Both players are playing like two of the best at their positions, and they have played almost every defensive snap through five weeks.
Eagles Must Consider a Nakobe Dean Trade Before Deadline
Reducing Baun's or Campbell's snaps to give them to Dean immediately upon his return from a nine-month absence makes little sense. PFF has them graded 7th (Campbell) and 12th (Baun) among off-ball linebackers, all while playing 95.5% (Campbell) and 100% (Baun) of available defensive snaps.. Vic Fangio could make some adjustments and have some lineups with three linebackers in the middle. That would carry its own risks, and whether it's worth it just to accommodate Dean is another question.
Instead, the best solution could be to showcase Dean enough to demonstrate that he is healthy and ready to contribute, so that he could be a trade chip at the November 4 deadline.
Dean is in the final year of his four-year rookie deal, making him an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. With Campbell and Baun thriving as the starters, the Eagles are unlikely to give the 24-year-old defender a lucrative multi-year deal. The Eagles already have an expensive team with some of the highest-paid players at multiple positions. They can't afford to pay the top-of-the-market price for players who will likely be backups when everyone is healthy.
Even if Dean's new deal doesn't end up being a market-mover, there are 17 linebackers making at least $10 million per season, and it would take north of $11 million to get into the top 10. If he comes back well from this injury, he's getting paid.
Therefore, the Eagles will almost certainly be priced out of the Nakobe Dean sweepstakes in the summer. Instead of losing a valuable player who has shown a ton of improvement last season for nothing, the Eagles would be wise to get draft capital or another player in a position of need in return. It would behoove Philly to trade Dean to an AFC playoff hopeful needing a starting linebacker. To do that, however, Dean has to start showing that he is back to his pre-injury self, beginning with Week 6.