In a passing league like the NFL, you can never have too many defensive backs. Good defensive backs. That’s one reason the Philadelphia Eagles should bring back Avonte Maddox.
He’s good, very good. He also has trouble staying healthy, and I get that.
The Eagles do, too, and that’s why they released him because it didn’t make financial sense to take a $9.6 million salary-cap charge for a player who had played in just 13 of a possible 34 games the past two seasons.
The team saved $1.9M by letting him go on March 7.
Maddox, who will turn 28 at the end of the month, is still looking for a job, so other teams know the injury history. His style of fearless and aggressive play has led to several surgeries through the years that involved a pectoral muscle and a foot to go along with a frightening concussion suffered early in the 2019 season in Green Bay when he was unable to move for about 20 seconds.
When healthy, Maddox is productive and has proven to be one of the top slot cornerbacks in the game. He's also a good teammate and presence in the locker room.
In 64 career games (38 starts), Maddox totaled 245 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 31 pass deflections, four interceptions, three sacks, eight forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. He's also played in seven playoff games with the team since being drafted in the fourth round out of Pittsburgh. Even in just four games last year, he made eight solo tackles with an interception.
Maddox's situation resembles that of former linebacker Jordan Hicks. The Eagles' third-round pick in 2015, Hicks was extremely talented and is still in the league playing at a high level, but in his final two seasons in Philly, 2017 and 2018, he played just 19 of a possible 32 games.
He played 16 games only once in his four seasons with the Eagles, even getting hurt on his honeymoon.
Since Hicks left, he has played every game for four straight years.
Maybe that will be Maddox, who also has position versatility teams like the Eagles crave. He can play outside and safety, too, having done both when called upon since being drafted in the fourth round back in 2018.
The Eagles were forced to try several players in the slot last year when Maddox was hurt early before turning for the final two regular-season games and the wild-card playoff game and backup Zech McPhearson was lost for the season during training camp.
That meant baptism under fire in the slot for rookie safety Sydney Brown, a crash course in the position from veteran outside cornerback James Bradberry, the signing of veteran Bradley Roby, and on and on until at least seven players were tried at the position, including undrafted rookie free agent Eli Ricks, who had never done it before.
The Eagles added C.J. Gardner-Johnson during free agency and can man the slot in a pinch, and McPhearson is expected to be fully recovered in time for training camp if not sooner.
There’s also Isaiah Rodgers, who has yet to be reinstated after serving a season-long suspension for gambling activity. He is considered the frontrunner to start in the slot despite playing on the outside for most of his time with the Indianapolis Colts and having been away from the game for a year.
Tyler Hall was signed on Tuesday. An undrafted free agent in 2020 out of Wyoming, Hall played 31 games with six starts, first for the Atlanta Falcons and then the last three years with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Hall, 25, has primarily in the slot with 301 of his 386 total snaps there. Without any interceptions and scant few stats to boast about, he isn't the playmaker that Maddox is.
So, are Rodgers, McPhearson, and maybe Gardner-Johnson, Ricks, and some other young DBs enough?
Maybe.
Signing Maddox, though, assures there will be enough.
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