Losing Nakobe Dean to the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency was hard for the Philadelphia Eagles, but not entirely unexpected or unjustified. With Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell in the building, the latter of whom Dean praised at length after leaving, the Eagles were built to survive without Dean.
And Philly made it a point to bolster their linebacker corps even more during draft season, adding promising youngsters like Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Deontae Lawson. It sounds weird to say, but the Eagles have barely missed Dean, even though he had some great moments for this franchise.
A big part of the equation was the fact that Dean simply couldn't stay healthy. After playing in all 17 games as a rookie, he played just 30 games over the next three years. The Raiders are unfortunately learning this lesson the hard way already, while the Eagles could practically teach a course about it.
Philadelphia Eagles fans are disappointed but not unsurprised that Nakobe Dean missed Raiders' offseason program
According to various reports from the Raiders' offseason program, Dean hasn't been a participant. Although the team didn't officially say why the veteran linebacker didn't partake in OTAs or mandatory minicamp, Philly fans know in their hearts why. And a non-answer is basically an answer anyway.
It has been said that Dean is at the team facility, and he was featured in several media day posts, so it's not as if he is disgruntled with his new franchise. After all, he just signed this offseason, so it would be unheard of for a player to be holding out for whatever reason.
Were Dean off campus during the voluntary portion of the offseason, that may not have raised any red flags. Veterans commonly choose to train elsewhere until things become mandatory, but the fact that Dean is at the facility and not participating leads to one conclusion: Injury.
Again, this is a disappointing development for the still-young player, and Eagles fans harbor no ill-will toward him. It was simply time for the two sides to part ways after uncertainty about his availability on a weekly basis.
Should Dean miss any time with the Raiders, Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni will immediately feel vindicated for not sinking $36 million into him over three seasons, especially with $23 million of that guaranteed, and $20 million guaranteed at signing.
Read more: Eagles may have several players entering a make-or-break summer
Hopefully, Dean makes a quick recovery and plays well for the Silver and Black, and Campbell balls out for the Eagles so that the team doesn't feel like it made the wrong decision. But if Dean isn't suiting up on Sundays, Philly fans won't be shocked at all. Just upset for him.
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