Eagles Release Slot Cornerback Avonte Maddox, Saving $2 Million

The Eagles are continuing to cut ties with players to shed salary. Last week it was Kevin Byard, and now they have released slot cornerback Avonte Maddox too. Maddox was scheduled to carry a cap hit of $9.6 million. After cutting him, he will have a dead cap hit of $7.7 million. meaning they save about $2 million in cap space for 2024. Adam Schefter was the first to report the move.

A reunion, at a lower number, is still in play. Both sides are interested in working out a new deal. But after two injury riddled seasons, the Eagles could not justify paying him that much money. He went out week 2 last season, and didn't return until week 17. In 2022 he played in just 12 games between the regular season and playoffs.

The Eagles have a lot of work to do this off-season rebuilding the secondary. Even if Maddox does return. That was one of their weakest areas in 2023, with their pass defense being ranked 2nd last in the league. Apart from Darius Slay, most of the other players in the secondary struggled. They have a good chunk of cap space, and a good haul of picks. But nailing their offseason moves will be key to bouncing back next season.

The Eagles drafted Avonte Maddox in 2018 with a 4th round pick. They tried playing him outside for a bit, but eventually he settled into the slot role. When healthy, he was played at a high level there. He just hasn't been healthy. To make it worse, the options behind him these past two seasons have not gotten the job done. They tried a ton of different slot corners last season, and all fot ehm struggled.

The Eagles had a lot of issues this past season. But one of the biggest reasons they fell so short is their secondary. The most consistent part of the Eagles season was seeing the other teams' receivers run wide-open. The Eagle finished the season 31st in passing yards allowed. If things are going to get fixed there, they are going to have to land some big-name free agents.

Last off-season, the Eagles brought both Darius Slay and James Bradberry back. Slay still played at a fairly high level when healthy. But Bradberry was a bit of a disaster. And the Eagles learned the drawbacks of relying on two corners over 30 years old. Outside those two, Avonte Maddox spent most of the season on the IR, and the young guys like Eli Ricks and Josh Jobe left a lot to be desired. Rookie Kelee Ringo flashed some ability but was from from good enough to trust going into next season.

Safety was an even bigger disaster. Reed Blankenship got worse as the season went along. Kevin Byard failed to impress after being traded to the team before the deadline and has now been cut. Sydney Brown could still have some promise, but he is unproven, and will likely miss the start of the season as he recovers from a torn ACL.

The entire secondary needs an infusion of talent. They also need to get both younger and faster. Thankfully, it is a pretty good offseason to be in need of secondary help. Especially if you are looking for a good young Safety. The Eagles have some cap space to work with to be able to sign one.

Washington didn't have much good going for them this season, but Fuller was the rare example of something going very well. The one drawback with him is at 28, he is a bit older than many of the guys on this list. But he does have the ability to play in the slot, and even Safety if they feel they need to move him around to extend his career. A younger corner is probably a better option, but Fuller seems to have a lot more good football left in him.

Playing for an irrelevant team in Washington, and being a former 7th-round pick, Curl has slid under the radar. But he is a solid Safety, who can do a bit of everything. Want someone to step up into the box? He can do it. Want someone to drop back in coverage? He can do that too. He is very similar to what Rodney McLeod was when McLeod first joined the Eagles. And after last year, most Eagles fans would kill to have a Safety like McLeod circa 2016.

Eagles fans are already very familiar with CJ Gardner-Johnson. And while he is far from a perfect player, his playmaking ability was sorely missed by the Eagles. The good news is they have a chance to make up for losing him last year, He is a free agent again. After missing most of the year with an injury, he might be available at a discount once again. There are better safeties in coverage on the market. But what he brings as a playmaker is not to be discounted.

The Commanders are not the only NFC East Rival who the Eagles can poach talent from. The Giants Xavier McKinney is also on the market. He was tremendous as a cover Safety last season. He held opposing QBs to an elite Passer Rating of 52.1 when targeting him. McKinney allowed 0 TDs and came away with 3 picks. Vic Fangio's defense relies on having great cover Safeties, and he is one of the best Safeties available in pass coverage. He is no slouch against the run either.

If they can't land one of the premium Safeties, Fuller is not a bad backup option. Is he a star? No. But think of him more like Marcus Epps. Epps was nothing special either, but after last season I think we all would have taken him back in a heartbeat. Fuller is a similar caliber of player. The Rams mostly deployed him as a deep Safety. In that role, he came away with 3 picks and only got beat deep a couple of times. Coming away with McKinney or Curl would be preferred. But Fuller would still be an upgrade.

Awuzie is a solid corner. He rarely misses a tackle and is reliable in coverage. Is he a star? No. Will he shut down a part of the field? No. But he is a major upgrade over who the Eagles had as their second corner last season. Ideally, they would land Snead or one of the top corners in the draft. But if they cant get Snead, he may be a good insurance policy in case none of the top corners ion the draft fall to 22.

The Chiefs defense was elite this year, and L'Jarius Sneed played a huge part in that. He allowed a pass rating against of just 64.5 this season. It was his first year playing predominantly outside after spending most of his career beforehand in the slot. The decision to move him outside paid off.

Update: The Chiefs placed the non-exclusive Franchise Tag on him. So any team interested will now need to work out a trade for him first.