Nakobe Dean is making his return to the field.

The Eagles announced on Wednesday that they have opened the linebacker's 21-day practice window.

Dean suffered a patellar tendon injury in his knee during the 2024 Wild Card Round win over the Packers, which ended his season. He opened this season on the Physically Unable to Perform list, which meant he had to miss the first four games.

From Weeks 6-18 last year, Dean graded out as the second-best linebacker in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. The only linebacker ahead of him? Teammate Zack Baun.

Dean called game in the November 3 win over Jacksonville, intercepting Trevor Lawrence's pass in the end zone to secure the win. In 15 starts last season, Dean had career highs across the board from tackles (128), tackles for loss (9), QB pressures and hits (19), sacks (3), interceptions (1), forced fumbles (2), and fumble recoveries (1).

"He played great last year," Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio said on Tuesday. "Besides being the signal-caller guy and being a leader, you can't be a leader if you don't play good and he played great for us last year. As far as where he is at now, either this week or next week, he'll start his practice window and then we'll see where he is at."

The Eagles also signed outside linebacker Antwaun Powell-Ryland to the practice squad. Powell-Ryland was selected by the Eagles in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft out of Virginia Tech. He had 16 sacks (3rd among all FBS players in the country) and 19 tackles for loss in his final season with the Hokies. Powell-Ryland continued that trend into the preseason, recording a sack and a forced fumble in the finale at the Jets. He was released during the final roster cutdown.

There was an open spot on the practice squad after the team made several roster moves on Tuesday.