Two of the earliest moves the Eagles made in the offseason were letting TJ Edwards and Kyzir White go to other teams. One of those linebackers was replaced immediately by an in-house player in Nakobe Dean, while the other—Nicholas Morrow—was picked up nearly a week later. As most Philadelphia fans know, Howie Roseman has never treated linebackers like a high-value position, and it has mostly paid off. So are the Eagles set at linebacker for the 2023 season?
The first thing to remember in a discussion like this is history. Nathan Gerry and Eric Wilson were day-one starters for this team just a couple of years ago. And I think it’s safe to say that Nakobe Dean and Nicholas Morrow will be better than both of them were. Additionally, Dean and Morrow are exactly what the Eagles want financially in their linebackers. Dean’s cap number for 2023 is $1,182,873. Morrow’s cap number for 2023 is $1,090,000. If this linebacker duo is above average in 2023, for a total cap number of less than $2.3 million that would be remarkable team building by Howie Roseman.
There’s also a lot to like about Morrow and Dean on the field. Morrow is a competent starter that’s always available. He played every snap for the Bears defense in 2022 and never looked like a liability. If he plays up to his potential, he can definitely be just as good as Kyzir white was last year. Dean is more of a question mark, because he’s never played a full-game in the NFL before. But he still was a top linebacker prospect in the 2022 NFL draft. How many Eagles linebackers have been top draft prospects in the last 10 years? I’d argue none. So based on talent, there’s an argument to be made Dean has a higher ceiling than TJ Edwards ever did during his time in Philly.
There’s also not a lot of linebacker talent left in free agency that the Eagles can get for a cheap price. Rashaan Evans, Anthony Barr, and Jaylon Smith are all worse options than Dean and Morrow. This year’s draft is not a good linebacking class either. All of the top LB prospects in this class, who would likely be second tier in other classes, will be gone before the third round, which has been the earliest Howie Roseman has been willing to take a linebacker in his tenure.
In my opinion, the Eagles starting linebacker core is set for the 2023 NFL season. Nothing is ever an open-and-shut case as I’m sure Howie Roseman is not sitting at his desk thinking Philadelphia’s starting linebackers are going to be Dean and Morrow no matter what. But I’d argue it’s overwhelmingly the most likely option for the 2023 season.