The Eagles have 20 players set to hit free agency, including Dallas Goedert and Jaelan Phillips, which makes 2026 one of their busiest offseasons in recent memory. But behind the bigger noise, Sirianni is making a different kind of move with one of his linebackers, and this one involves letting go to hold on.

Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean is set to become an unrestricted free agent when the new league year officially opens on March 11. But according to Philadelphia Inquirer Eagles reporter Jeff McLane, the Eagles have told Dean and his agency to “come back” if the open market does not meet their expectations.

In other words, Dean will test the waters in free agency to find out what kind of deal he can land. But if the market does not deliver what he is looking for, Nick Sirianni and the Eagles will be ready to welcome him back. That is a chance the organization is ready to take.

Dean just completed the final year of his four-year, $5.2 million rookie deal with the Eagles. He signed that contract in 2022 when Philly selected him in the third round. Since then, he has developed into a consistent contributor for the Eagles’ defense.

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His best season came in 2024, when he posted 128 tackles (80 solo) along with three sacks, six quarterback hits, and 41 blitz pressures across 15 starts. That campaign put Dean right behind Zack Baun as the second pillar of the Eagles’ defensive unit. Along the way, Dean also ranked in the top 20 of the AP comeback player of the year award voting that season.

However, injuries have been a persistent cloud over Dean’s career. Over his four seasons, he has missed a total of 21 regular-season games.

In 2023, a Lisfranc foot injury limited him to just five games. And in the last season, he missed a total of seven games recovering from a knee injury he suffered during the 2024 Wild Card round and a hamstring issue. 

But when healthy, Dean has proven himself to be a valuable defensive weapon. The problem is the cap math. Philly currently carries just $12.52 million in available cap space. Zack Baun carries a cap hit of $7.53 million this year, and Jihaad Campbell carries a $3.38 million cap number entering his second season.

With two linebackers already eating into their limited cap room, the Eagles may not be able to afford Dean at market value. And for Dean, the market is shaping up to be a good one.

Nick Sirianni’s gamble gets complicated as teams line up for Nakobe Dean

There have been reports of the Washington Commanders, the Denver Broncos, and the Dallas Cowboys, among others, circling Dean ahead of the free agency opening. The interest is strong across the league, but Dean’s price will reportedly go up this offseason.

According to Spotrac, he is projected to land a four-year deal worth $7.89 million per year. But per Heavy.com, that number could be anywhere between $10 and $13 million annually, depending on how the market plays out. Those numbers will quickly sort out which teams are serious contenders and which ones are not.

Looking at the cap space of each team tells the real story. The Commanders enter free agency with $87.6 million in available cap space. The Broncos carry approximately $24.47 million in cap space. Meanwhile, Dallas sits at just $9.74 million in cap space. Looking at those numbers, the Cowboys may simply not be in a position to afford Dean.

If it were up to Dean himself, he would already have his answer. During Super Bowl 60 media week, the linebacker made his preference crystal clear: he wanted to stay with the Eagles. Besides Philadelphia, he has also shown interest in the Broncos. 

He told The Denver Post’s Luca Evans that he likes “watching the Broncos’ defense.” Dean also added, “Yeah, if everything checks out…for sure,” when asked about the possibility of joining Denver.