Eagles activate Avonte Maddox; Albert Okwuegbunam placed on injured reserve
The cornerback has been sidelined since Sept. 14 after he suffered a torn pectoral muscle in his chest. "When I get my opportunity to step back on the field, there won’t be a change to my game."
The Eagles on Saturday activated nickel cornerback Avonte Maddox from injured reserve. In a corresponding move, the team placed tight end Albert Okwuegbunam (hamstring) on IR.
Maddox has been sidelined since Sept. 14, when he suffered a torn pectoral muscle during the team’s Week 2 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
He returned to practice for the first time since suffering the injury last week and was listed as a full participant in each session. However, Maddox still was ruled out Monday against the New York Giants.
He was a full participant again this week and is now slated to play Sunday, when the Eagles host the Arizona Cardinals at Lincoln Financial Field (1 p.m., Fox29).
”It’s been tough mentally,” Maddox said. “But everything happens for a reason, I feel like. When I get my opportunity to step back on the field, there won’t be a change to my game. I play the same way, all the time, every time. That’s just me. No matter what I’m feeling. When I step back on the field, run out of the tunnel for the first time again with my shoulder pads — it’ll be fun.”
Maddox’s return to the lineup will be welcomed by a pass defense that currently ranks 27th in the league (250.8 yards allowed per game). Since his injury, the Eagles have struggled to adapt; up to five different defensive backs have lined up from the slot during Maddox’s absence.
Over 62 career games, Maddox has 246 tackles, 31 passes defensed, four interceptions, and eight forced fumbles. Selected in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL draft out of Pittsburgh, Maddox carved himself a niche from the slot. He was rewarded in November 2021 with a three-year contract extension worth $22.5 million.
Since then, though, Maddox has struggled to stay healthy. Over the past two years, he has appeared in 11 of 21 regular-season games.
Maddox, 27, insisted he’s approaching this weekend, along with the rest of the season, with a notion that he’s got something to prove.
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”The way I play the game, I play physical, tough,” Maddox said. “I’m energetic, that’s how I lead. Not necessarily screaming or yelling at people what to do. But I just put it on the field. I show it through my hustle and respect for the game. When you have someone like that, it’s kind of contagious. You want to feed off each other.
”If I can bring that back on the field, it’ll be fun. It’s been happening the past couple of weeks [in practice]. You can see guys running around on defense and swarming to the ball.”
Okwuegbunam, 25, whom the Eagles acquired via trade with the Denver Broncos in late August, has appeared in four games this season. After he popped up on the injury report Friday and initially was ruled questionable for Sunday’s game, Okwuegbunam was downgraded Saturday to out and subsequently placed on IR.
Additionally, the Eagles downgraded linebacker Zach Cunningham (knee) from questionable to doubtful, and linebacker Brandon Smith was elevated from the practice squad.
The Eagles will host the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest storylines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from Lincoln Financial Field.