The Eagles let Nakobe Dean walk in free agency, positioning 2025 first-rounder Jihaad Campbell to take over his starting linebacker job next to Zack Baun.
Campbell, nevertheless, is anticipated to miss many of the offseason after undergoing shoulder surgery, Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio recently revealed.
“He’s coping with a shoulder injury,” Fangio said last week (via Reuben Frank of NBC Sports Philadelphia). “He’s gonna miss probably many of the offseason.”
That may leave Campbell with less time to get comfortable in Philadelphia’s 2026 defense, though much of the unit might be the identical as last yr. He appeared in every game as a rookie with 10 starts and a 63% snap share, so he should already be plenty conversant in Fangio’s scheme and the players in it.
The previous Alabama star was a full-time starter initially of the yr with Dean still recovering from the previous season’s knee injury. Campbell slid to the bench when Dean returned, but one other injury later within the season put the first-round pick back in a starting role for the last two games of the regular season.
Campbell finished his rookie yr with 80 tackles (two for loss), two tackles for loss, three passes defended, one forced fumble, and one interception. He also earned a 76.2 grade from Pro Football Focus (subscription required), which ranked seventeenth amongst all linebackers with at the very least 50 snaps (and led all rookies).
Though he was seen as a hybrid linebacker/edge rusher, Campbell only lined up along the line of defense 150 times as a rookie with just 57 pass rushing snaps. Fangio’s comments and the Eagles’ offseason moves indicate he’ll primarily remain in an off-ball linebacker role moving forward,