There wasn’t a particular moment or grand revelation that led linebacker Nakobe Dean to decide on signing with the Las Vegas Raiders during his first foray into free agency last week.
He just looked inward and reflected on his situation.
“It ended up being a gut feeling, like most decisions I make,” Dean said Thursday at Aria, where he was playing in a Celebrity Poker Tour event. “I prayed on it a little bit and then it was just my gut feeling that told me to come here and I went with it.”
His instincts weren’t quite enough on the poker table. Dean was eliminated relatively early when he went all-in short stacked with a suited A-5 that never improved as he was covered by newly-signed Green Bay Packers tight end Skyy Moore’s pair of queens. Gambling influencer Vegas Matt was knocked out on the same hand.
It was Dean’s first time playing poker. He’s far more experienced and comfortable on the football field, which is good news for the Raiders.
Dean was part of an elite college team at Georgia and won a Super Bowl as part of a perennial contender in Philadelphia.
Now he hopes to put the Raiders on that kind of level after signing a three-year contract for $36 million.
“It would be great to build something here,” he said. “I feel like most of the places I’ve been, we were working toward something special and when it comes down to it, it’s all about winning games and winning championships. That’s my goal here.”
He won’t be alone.
Dean signed on the same day his former college teammate Quay Walker signed with the Raiders. Their former Georgia teammate Eric Stokes also re-signed with the Raiders hours earlier.
It won’t be a new experience for Dean, a 25-year-old Mississippi native who has 226 tackles in 47 games over four NFL seasons.
He played with Georgia teammates Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Nolan Smith and Kelee Ringo in Philadelphia.
“It’s amazing,” Dean said of the reunions. “I was able to do it with the Eagles with a couple of my Georgia guys there, too. Being able to play with another couple of them is great. I know how amazing it was there, and I’m pretty sure it will be the same here.”
That feeling lines up with what Walker said last week in an introductory news conference.
“It’s just another opportunity for us to go out there and to showcase our talent and just to bring a type of energy, intensity to the defense and just add to it,” he said. “Just bring a whole lot of grit that the other guys can feed up on, and hopefully they can match our energy, which I know they will. I know (defensive coordinator) Rob (Leonard) is going to use us in the right way and set us up for success.”
Dean believes the Raiders are ready to take a big step after signing a free-agent class that includes himself and several other players who have won at a high level in the league.
The Raiders have not won a playoff game since 2003 and have made just two postseason appearances since that season.
It would make the turnaround that much sweeter, especially because Dean has kept a close eye on the Raiders because of how much time he already spends in the area.
“I’m excited,” he said. “I look forward to coming here to build something and do it with a few guys I know. It’s a big opportunity here. I stay in Vegas for much of the offseason anyway, so it’s cool to have the opportunity to play for the Raiders.”
There is one teammate he didn’t expect to be joining forces with when he signed his deal.
Maxx Crosby had been traded to the Baltimore Ravens at the time. The next day, the trade was rescinded and Dean learned he’d most likely be sharing the field with one of the league’s top pass rushers.
“It would be great to be able to play with a guy like that and wreak some havoc on defense,” Dean said.
He certainly makes life more difficult on his opponents there than on the poker table.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.
