No team in the NFL will look the exact same year in and year out. Detroit Lions are hoping they have a campaign similar to the one they had in 2024 when they went 15-2.
They made a flurry of additions in free agency, and one included signing CB Avonte Maddox to a one-year, $1.42 million deal. Despite playing cornerback for his entire seven-year career with the Eagles, the Lions have different plans.
According to Lions' safeties coach Jim O'Neil, Maddox will be playing more of a safety role this season.
Avonte Maddox Set to Play Safety for Lions in 2025
Maddox was drafted in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL draft by the Eagles, where he logged more than 65% of the defensive snaps in five campaigns. Over 81 career games in Philadelphia, he had 270 total tackles, 13 TFLs, 36 pass deflections, eight forced fumbles, and four interceptions.
As a rookie in 2018, he rotated between CB and SS before staying at corner full time from 2019-2024.
The Lions have a nice collection of talent at corner. That group features Terrion Arnold, Amik Robertson, D.J. Reed, and Ennis Rakestraw Jr.
They even have Brian Branch Jr. play a fair amount of snaps in the slot, which is where Maddox made a name for himself in the pros.
The competition is less steep at safety, which could give Maddox a better chance of getting on the field. Everyone knows Branch and Kerby Joseph are the duo on the backend of the defense, but adding Maddox to that fold is surprising.
OTAs and training camp will give Maddox the chance to make some waves at safety and solidify a role for himself going into the new campaign.
Maddox turned 29 years old in March, and this move could signal he believes his best days going forward are at safety, and Detroit will give him the opportunity to showcase that.