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Former Georgia LB Nakobe Dean sustains season-ending injury in NFL playoffs, per report
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Former Georgia standout linebacker Nakobe Dean suffered a torn patellar tendon in his knee during Sunday’s wild-card victory and will miss the rest of the playoffs, according to a report by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo on Monday morning.
The 3rd-year linebacker was just coming into his own on the Philadelphia Eagles defense in 2024. The report also said that the 24-year-old Dean will likely miss the start of next season, too.
Dean piled up a whopping 128 tackles for the Eagles during the regular season, including 80 solo tackles. He added 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries and an interception.
Dean was injured during the second quarter of Sunday’s victory over the Green Bay Packers after tackling tight end Tucker Kraft for a 3-yard loss on a screen play. After being assisted off the field to the medical tent, Dean was carted inside. He offered gestures of encouragement to Eagles fans on his way to the tunnel.
But on Monday, Dean and the Eagles got the worst news possible, as their playoff run will continue without the talented young linebacker.
Dean helped lead Georgia to the national title in 2021. He won the Butkus Award that year and was named a unanimous All-American.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
