Key Takeaways:
- Raiders sign former Eagles LB Nakobe Dean to 3-year, $36M deal ($20M guaranteed)
- Raiders sign former Packers LB Quay Walker to 3-year, $40.5M deal ($28M guaranteed)
- Both players were teammates at the University of Georgia, winning the 2021 National Championship together
- Dean won the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker in 2021
The Las Vegas Raiders are bringing back a championship connection. The team signed former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean to a three-year, $36 million deal with $20 million guaranteed, while also adding former Green Bay Packers linebacker Quay Walker on a three-year, $40.5 million contract with $28 million guaranteed.
But the story goes deeper than just two free agent signings. Dean and Walker were teammates at the University of Georgia from 2019 to 2021, and together they were part of something special — the 2021 National Championship team that defeated Alabama 33-18 in the College Football Playoff National Championship on January 10, 2022.
Walker, a senior in 2021, was a starting linebacker for the Bulldogs, recording 67 tackles during the season and adding 8 tackles in the championship game itself. Meanwhile, Dean was a standout starter who took his game to another level — he won the Butkus Award in 2021, awarded to the nation’s top linebacker.
The two, along with Channing Tindall, formed Georgia’s legendary inside linebacker trio. After the championship season, both entered the 2022 NFL Draft — Walker went 22nd overall to the Green Bay Packers, while Dean was selected in the third round by the Philadelphia Eagles.
Now, years later, the former Georgia Bulldogs are reunited in Las Vegas. The Raiders’ defense has been completely transformed in just one week of free agency, adding Dean, Walker, cornerback Eric Stokes, safety Taron Johnson, and others.
With the additions, GM John Spytek has assembled a young, talented core that can lead the Raiders back to contention.
Walk the Plank
National champions, together again. That’s the headline. Dean and Walker won it all at Georgia, and now they’re bringing that championship pedigree to Las Vegas. Two guys who lifted the heaviest trophy in college football are now teaming up to lift the Raiders back to glory. The Butkus Award winner and a first-round pick — that’s the kind of talent that changes franchises. John Spytek is building something special, and Raider Nation should be very excited.
