From wide receiver Lynn Swann to running backs Walter Payton and Herschel Walker, there's a storied history of NFL players cross-training by taking up ballet.

Add Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean to the list of plié-performing athletes, Bobby Kownack of NFL.com reports.

The 24-year-old, who was knocked out of participating in the rest of the Eagles' Super Bowl run after suffering a torn patellar tendon during Wild Card Weekend, has traded in studs for slippers at BalletX, a contemporary ballet company in Philadelphia, to help supplement his rehab from the injury.

"There's way more flexibility, of course. Way more mobility," Dean said regarding the results, via NBC Philadelphia's Brendan Brightman and Matt DeLucia. "It's definitely something that's helping with my rehab.

"You just feel a change immediately. After you stretch, you're not as tight or as sore."

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