Report: Maddox Injury ‘Not Look Good’

Avonte Maddox, who has missed a slew of Eagles games to injuries in his career, is reportedly injured once again, and it sound  serious.

The sixth-year nickel cornerback left Thursday night’s 34-28 win over the Vikings in the fourth quarter and never returned. He appeared to suffer a shoulder injury.

Derrick Gunn, co-host of Gunn On One on Inside The Birds, reported Friday that Maddox’s injury appeared to be serious:

I’m hearing it does not look good for Avonte Maddox … to what extent should be revealed later today. That’s a shame. He’s such a good good guy.

— Derrick Gunn (@RealDGunn) September 15, 2023

John Clark, of NBC Sports Philadelphia, is reporting team concern about a torn pectoral muscle for Maddox, which would likely land the corner on Injured Reserve again.

GETTY IMAGES: Nickel CB Avonte Maddox left Thursday’s game with an injury that could keep him sidelined a while.

Maddox missed eight games last year, mostly from a toe injury that eventually required a procedure and slowed him at the start of camp. Outside of 2021, when he played 16 games, Maddox has never played more than 13 games in a season and played 12 or fewer three times.

The Eagles were already thin in the secondary before Maddox’s injury, playing a short turnaround game against Vikings without cornerback James Bradberry and safety Reed Blankenship, which forced backup corner Josh Jobe and veteran backup safety Terrell Edmunds into starting roles.

Bradberry and Blankenship could be available by next Monday night’s game against the Bucs, but neither is the permanent answer to filling Maddox’s role on the inside.

Bradberry cross-trained at nickel corner during training camp, but he’s not being paid $12-plus-million a year to leave the perimeter for a full-time job defending slot receivers and filling run gaps.

The answer also isn’t next-man-up Mario Goodrich, a second-year corner who went undrafted out of Clemson and spent his rookie season on the practice squad.

Goodrich replaced Maddox mid-game Thursday night and wound up on the wrong end of some Vikings receptions, playing his first meaningful NFL spans.

Justin Evans, who has started at safety for the first two games with mixed results, could move into the slot in a “big nickel” look that puts three safeties on the field.

This might be the team’s best option, with Edmunds playing opposite Blankenship at safety, because Evans played some nickel last season for the Saints.

But Evans has also struggled to stay healthy and he’d be a sure target for opposing quarterbacks each week.

Last year, the Eagles filled Maddox’s void with Josiah Scott. Scott was picked on frequently during his time in Maddox’s role and was behind Goodrich by the end of camp.

Where’s Nickell Robey-Coleman when you need him? Joselio Hanson, Line 1? What’s Brandon Boykin doing these days?

We kid, we kid.

But the reality is, Maddox’s injury is a brutal blow for an Eagles team that’s deep in many areas, but not cornerback, and surely not nickel corner.

– Geoff Mosher (@geoffmoshernfl) is co-host of the “Inside the Birds” podcast and staff writer for InsideTheBirds.com.

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