As expected, the Philadelphia Eagles made things official with second-year linebacker Nakobe Dean, placing him on injured reserve with a foot injury. Dean will be required to miss at least four weeks, meaning the earliest he can return is Oct. 15 for a Week 6 matchup against the New York Jets.

Dean was expected to play a pivotal role at the heart of the Eagles' defense this season after seeing limited action as a rookie in 2022. He played in all 17 games last season but saw only 34 defensive snaps. He got his first NFL start and made seven tackles in a win on Sunday.

The Eagles are already thin at both experience and depth at linebacker so the loss of Dean complicates things even more. Philly lost both its starting linebackers from a season ago in what was among six losses from a starting defense that ranked second in total defense in 2022.

The Eagles signed veteran Nicholas Morrow to the active roster from its practice squad. He'll likely get some playing time on Thursday night. He started 17 games with the Chicago Bears last season.

Philadelphia also signed Rashaan Evans to its practice squad. The former first-round pick finished top-10 in tackles last season but remained a free agent until the Eagles officially signed him on Tuesday.

The loss of Nakobe Dean will certainly hurt the Eagles. They have little time to dwell on his absence as they have a short week to prepare for the Minnesota Vikings who come to Philadelphia on Thursday to kick off Week 2.