Who Should I Start? Nakobe Dean or Malcolm Rodriguez

Monday, January 13, 12:03 PM

Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean (knee) suffered a torn patellar tendon in his knee late in the wild-card win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday and will miss the rest of the playoffs. It's a tough blow for the Eagles and Deal, who was at the tail end of a breakout season. He now has a long road to recovery and will likely miss the start of the 2025 regular season this fall. The Eagles were bracing for a serious injury after Dean had to be carted off the field in Philadelphia on Sunday. He underwent an MRI exam on Monday morning to confirm the serious injury. The former third-rounder in 2022 out of Georgia emerged as a starter in 2024 in his third year in the league and had an impressive 128 tackles (80 solo), a career-high three sacks, nine tackles for loss, six QB hits, one interception, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries in 15 regular-season starts. It's a notable loss for Philly's D the rest of the way.

Friday, November 29, 1:08 PM

Detroit Lions linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez (knee) suffered a torn right ACL in Thursday's Thanksgiving Day win over the division-rival Chicago Bears and will miss the rest of the season. It's a tough blow for Rodriguez, who had started six games this year while picking up 43 tackles and two sacks. The 25-year-old's season-ending injury came in the fourth quarter of the eventual 23-20 victory over Chicago on Turkey Day. He had five tackles and one pass breakup in the game before departing. Rodriguez will certainly need surgery and could be in danger of missing the start of the 2025 season, depending on how his rehab goes in the offseason. The Lions defense also lost a key piece of their linebacking corps recently when Alex Anzalone broke his forearm. The 30-year-old is expected to miss six to eight weeks and was placed on Injured Reserve.