Eagles Fear Maddox Tore Chest In Win Over Vikings

The Eagles picked up a win over the Vikings on Thursday night, but it may have come at a price.

Defensive back Avonte Maddox suffered a shoulder injury early in the second quarter in the 34-28 win in the home opener, but it sounds more serious. There is concern that Maddox has suffered a torn pectoral muscle, John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia reported.

If Maddox does indeed tear his pectoral, his 2023 season would likely be over after just two games.

At the start of Thursday’s game, Maddox showed what he can do. He lined up at safety and nickel corner and forced a fumble on the Vikings’ second drive of the game.

Although the 27-year-old Maddox has been a very good player for the Eagles in recent years, he has struggled to stay healthy. He has only played more than 13 games once in his NFL career.

Last year, Maddox missed eight regular season games and one playoff game as he battled three different injuries. In 2022, he injured his ankle, hamstring and toe. After the Super Bowl, Maddox will have surgery to repair the toe, and he still looked a little rusty during training camp.

The Eagles drafted Maddox in the fourth round against Pitt in 2018 and he received an extension in 2021. He is under contract until the 2024 season.

During Thursday’s game, Maddox was replaced by UDFA second-year cornerback Mario Goodrich of Clemson. Goodrich played 39 snaps in his first-ever NFL action.

This summer, the Eagles also experimented with playing James Bradberry in the slot. So if they have more confidence in Josh Jobe playing outside than Goodrich, they could move Bradberry, who missed Thursday’s game with a concussion. But they didn’t bring Bradberry back this offseason on a three-year, $38 million contract to play nickel.

The Eagles’ other reserve cornerbacks are Kelee Ringo and Eli Ricks, neither of whom played nickel this summer. The Eagles could also get some big nickel out of one of their safeties; That seems like a possibility sometimes.

Last year, when Maddox missed time, the Eagles replaced him with Josiah Scott, who is now on the Steelers’ practice squad injured list. The Eagles ultimately released him.

But during last year’s stretch run, Scott’s playing at nickel became such a problem that the Eagles decided to move CJ Gardner-Johnson to nickel and replace him with Reed Blankenship. The Eagles simply don’t have as much depth or versatility in their secondary in 2023.