He was released on March 7 after six years with the Eagles. He re-signed a month later but with a smaller contract and no guarantees. He began the season as the starting slot but got benched for Cooper DeJean during the bye week. He was in the mix to be the third safety but lost that job initially to undrafted Tristin McCollum.
It hasn’t been the easiest year for Avonte Maddox.
Through it all, the long-time Eagles defensive back has remained focused on the one thing he can control. Doing whatever he can to help the Eagles become a better team.
“Of course, it's always difficult when you're not in the role that you were in before, but you know, you just have to embrace every opportunity you do get and make the best of it,” Maddox said. “So if I have a chance to help one of my teammates, whether it’s Reed or Coop or Q or any of the other guys, I’m going to do it.
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“You know, I'm not a selfish person. I'm here to help the team any way I can and that’s been my role now and I'm accepting that, and you know I'm just trying to get better each and every day.”
Maddox began the year in the same role he held for most of his first six years with the Eagles, manning the slot. Maddox played more than 3,000 defensive snaps from 2018 through 2023 and was very good. Solid in coverage, physical against the run.
But he had a tough first few weeks this year, and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio replaced him with rookie Cooper DeJean during the bye week. DeJean has been terrific, and after averaging 53 snaps per game before the bye, Maddox averaged only 6 per game during the 10-game winning streak as DeJean took ownership of the slot corner spot.
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What was the first thing Maddox did after he got benched for DeJean?
Help him.
“Avonte’s been great,” DeJean said. “I mean, I wouldn't be playing the way I am without his help. He's helped me ever since I got in here. I wouldn't have been able to learn this defense as fast as I did without him.
“And even after the bye week, he's still been there every step of the way, helping me each and every game, preparing throughout the week. He's just embraced his role, I think, and has been making a lot of plays on special teams too. He's just a selfless teammate.”
“I can't thank him enough for all he's done for me.”
Maddox is one of only seven Eagles remaining from as far back as 2018, when he was part of an outstanding draft class that also included Dallas Goedert, Josh Sweat and Jordan Mailata.
He spent most of his career here manning the slot, but with DeJean now ensconced there, he’s had to find other ways to contribute and he’s done it as a backup slot and safety and as a special teamer, where he’s been very good.
The way he’s handled life as a backup has certainly impressed Fangio.
“He’s been great,” Fangio said Tuesday. “He's the ultimate teammate. He's helped the guys that have replaced him, tutoring them along. He's been fantastic.”
According to Stathead, opposing quarterbacks are 12-for-24 for 110 yards with one touchdown when targeting Maddox, and his 76.7 passer rating is 24th-best among 120 cornerbacks who’ve played at least 200 snaps. The one touchdown was Jordan Love’s 2-yarder to Christian Watson in the season opener in São Paulo.
But his real value has been as a mentor, as a teacher. When Maddox was a rookie back in 2008, it was veterans like Malcolm Jenkins, Rasul Douglas, Jalen Mills, Rodney McLeod and Ronald Darby who took Maddox under their wing and shared their knowledge about how to be a professional.
All Maddox is doing is passing that knowledge down to the next generation of Eagles defensive backs.
“Even when I got here in ‘22, he was one of those guys who was always taking the time to help out anybody who needed it,” Reed Blankenship said. “He's really like an unsung leader that way. Any questions I had, anything, and he’s still the same way. Regardless of what happened, what changed throughout the season, he didn't change.
“He was always there to answer questions, to be a supporter, to do this and that. It would probably be hard for other people, but for him, it just comes naturally. A lot of people outside of the facility don't see it, but man, he’s a great person.”
Maddox has been a fixture here for seven years now. He’s the first defensive back to spend seven years with the Eagles since Quintin Mikell from 2003 through 2010 and the first corner since Sheldon Brown from 2002 through 2009.
And when his time here is up, he’ll be remembered as much for the person he was as the player he was.
“I'm not a person to hope for someone’s downfall,” Maddox said. “I want to help as much as I can and see (other) players get better and make the best out of their career because football is not forever. So if I can help you in any kind way, I’m willing to do that.”
The Eagles have such a large stable of fast, young, promising corners there’s no guarantee Maddox will be back for an eighth year. But right now, he’s not concerned with that. He’s just thinking about what he can do to help the Eagles win a Super Bowl.
“I feel like I still got a lot of juice,” he said. “I'm just excited to continue this season and see how far we can get and bring one home.
“I know one thing, the seven years went fast. It was just a snap of a finger. Me and Dallas (Goedert) and I were rookies and living together and now, it’s like, 'Wow, just like that, it’s seven years later.'
“I've been in the same locker the whole time. It’s like nothing ever moved. I’m pretty lucky.”
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