Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean’s long wait to get back on the practice field ended on Wednesday.
Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio suggested earlier this week that Dean would return to practice for the first time since tearing his patellar tendon in January and Dean was a limited participant on the team’s injury report. After it was over, Dean shared how it felt to take the next step in getting back into the lineup.
“It felt great to be back out there with the guys,” Dean said, via Reuben Frank of NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com. “It just felt great to be back running around doing the plays. Just playing football again.”
Dean can practice for three weeks before the Eagles face a deadline to activate him and the length of his layoff likely means he’ll require to ramp back up to full speed. The Eagles are in good hands at linebacker with Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell in the interim and they’ll have some juggling to do once Dean does get the green light for the final step in his recovery.