Shortly after releasing him at the start of NFL free agency, the Philadelphia Eagles ended up bringing their former starting nickel Avonte Maddox on a one-year deal.
At the time the Eagles had not addressed their slot cornerback need, so re-signing Maddox made perfect sense.
But now, the Eagles have 15 cornerbacks on their 90-man roster competing for a spot this offseason. And among that list are 2024 first and second-round draft picks, Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean.
That means Maddox is no longer a roster lock, but his versatility could help him land a reserve role.
During mandatory minicamp earlier this month, Maddox not only took reps at his usual nickel spot but he also got some looks at safety and feels confident in his ability to play both positions.
“I'm learning,” Maddox told reporters during minicamp. “I know the nickel spot really well, and I feel like something that helped me in my career is to learn the safety spot. As you get older, you get a little bit slower.
“Right now I'm kind of mostly just working on my footwork because it's a little bit different. And vision-wise, you’ve got a lot more vision in the back end than inside with the nickel spot. And you just have different techniques and footwork you have to use back there at safety than I would have used in nickel. But I'm definitely comfortable and definitely confident. I know all the calls, I know what to do, I know what to say, I know where everybody's at on the field.”
If he can master both jobs, the only thing stopping him from earning a roster spot are injuries.
When healthy, Maddox is reliable on the field, logging a combined 245 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 31 pass deflections, four interceptions, three sacks, eight forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery through 64 career games and 38 starts for the Birds.
But that's the problem, Maddox has had a hard time staying healthy over the last two years and has played in just 14 games.
To make sure he stays on the field in 2024, Maddox has been giving his body some extra attention this offseason.
“Just getting stronger, lifting heavier and doing all the little things, running more, and doing all the little things that can get the tweaks out of the areas that are weak," he said. "I feel like that could have been a reason for the injuries. So eating better, sleeping more. I'm doing all the little things that I can.”
With minicamp out of the way, Maddox can spend the next few weeks getting into better shape and working on his new routine until the Eagles regroup for training camp at the end of July when the real roster competition starts.
