Avonte Maddox carted to locker room in Week 2

Maddox spent all of last season with the Lions after spending the first seven years of his career in Philly. The veteran safety appeared in 14 games last season, totaling 32 tackles, four pass breakups, and one interception. While he’s played the majority of his career at corner, Maddox saw 248 of his 342 defensive snaps come at free safety last year.

Joseph has dealt with this knee injury for weeks now. His continued absence following the Lions’ Week 8 bye is unfortunate. Lions CB Terrion Arnold (shoulder) continues to practice in full while CB Avonte Maddox (hamstring) remains limited. The unit should at least get Arnold back for their Week game against the Vikings, though Joseph and Maddox are up in the air.

Arnold’s return is a bit surprising. He got good news on his shoulder injury 10 days ago, with ESPN’s Adam Schefter saying he could return “sooner than expected,” but earlier that day it was thought Arnold could be out for the rest of the season. It seems as though he has a chance to suit up for the Lions’ Week 7 game against the Buccaneers on Monday night. Lions S Kerby Joseph (knee) and DB Avonte Maddox (hamstring) remain sidelined. Lions S Brian Branch is suspended for one game.

Lions CB Terrion Arnold (shoulder) and DB Avonte Maddox (hamstring) remain sidelined. Joseph has been playing through the knee injury as best he can, but misses snaps in-game from time to time. The Lions will be without S Brian Branch (suspension) against the Buccaneers on Monday night. The Buccaneers’ offense is also short-staffed, but QB Baker Mayfield will do what he can to exploit the Lions’ beleaguered unit.

The Lions will be without one of their premier offensive linemen against an aggressive Kansas City pass rush that currently ranks sixth in blitz rate at over 32%. That could lead to a more ball-out-quick offensive structure, likely benefiting both Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jahmyr Gibbs through the air. The team also downgraded DB Avonte Maddox (hamstring) and OL Giovanni Manu (knee) to out.

The Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett reports that Branch “worked out on the side during individual drills at practice Wednesday and had a noticeable limp as he left the locker room Thursday.” The Lions’ secondary could be extremely short-staffed against the Chiefs on Sunday night. Birkett notes that starting CBs, D.J. Reed and Terrion Arnold, are out indefinitely with hamstring and shoulder injuries. The Lions placed backup CB Khalil Dorsey on injured reserve this week and No. 3 safety Avonte Maddox “showed up on the injury report Thursday with a hamstring injury.”

Maddox was a fourth-round pick of the Eagles back in 2018 and has spent his entire seven-year career with the team. Playing primarily as a backup, Maddox has started 41 of the 81 games he’s appeared in during his career and has played on 345-plus defensive snaps in every season outside of an injury-shortened 2023. Maddox has played primarily as a slot corner when asked to play in coverage and will likely play a similar role with the Lions.

Just weeks after being released by the Eagles, Maddox is back with the team on a one-year deal. Maddox played in only four games last season due to a pectoral injury, and played in only nine games in 2022. Maddox has been a solid slot corner when healthy, but staying on the field is key. We’ll see if he’s able to enjoy a more successful season in 2024.

25 days shy of his 28th birthday, Maddox is getting cut following a 2023 where pectoral issues limited him to only four games. This, after injury limited him to nine appearances during the Eagles’ Super Bowl 2022 campaign. The move clears just $1.96 million if Maddox is a pre-June 1 release, leaving behind over $7 million in dead money. Ineffective when healthy last year, the slot man is going to have issues landing any guaranteed money beyond 2024 in free agency.

Maddox has been out since Week 2 and immediately provides a significant boost to a secondary currently allowing the most fantasy points per game to opposing wide receivers. It’s a significant dent to the Week 17 expectation for Rondale Moore.