The Philadelphia Eagles released cornerback Avonte Maddox in early March, but had an eye on bringing him back into the fold. Maddox had a $9.6 million salary cap hit in 2024, leading to his release, but he is now reportedly back. Thursday, the Eagles agreed to terms on a new one-year deal with Maddox, per ESPN.
Maddox played just four games last season due to a torn pectoral, recording 12 tackles, two passes defended and a forced fumble. He did return for the Eagles' Super Wild Card Weekend matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and recorded seven tackles.
Maddox has only played for the Eagles during his NFL career, having been selected by Philly in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft out of Pittsburgh. In 64 games played, he's recorded 250 combined tackles, 31 passes defended, eight forced fumbles and four interceptions.
The Eagles were expected to reshape the secondary under new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. Philly suffered through numerous injuries on defense in 2023, including Maddox, and had the second-worst scoring defense (30.6 points per game) and total defense (396.7 total yards per game) while Philly lost six out of its last seven to close out the season. The Eagles allowed points on 54% of drives in the final seven games, which was the worst mark in the NFL. Overall, the Eagles had the second-worst pass defense in 2023, with 252.7 passing yards allowed per contest.
This offseason, the Eagles have brought in pass rusher Bryce Huff, a few linebackers in Devin White, Zack Baun and Oren Burks, and returned safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson on defense.
