What comes around, well, sometimes it just returns. That's the case with cornerback Avonte Maddox, a six-year Eagle who was released by the team on March 7. He now returns to the team that gave him his start in the NFL, as the Eagles announced on Thursday that Maddox signed a one-year contract.

It's the right fit, after all, for a player who has totaled 245 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 31 pass deflections, four interceptions, three sacks, eight forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery in 64 career games (38 starts). Since being drafted in the fourth round out of the University of Pittsburgh, he's also played in seven playoff games with the team.

Maddox has battled injuries the past two seasons. The 2022 trip to Super Bowl LVII was hampered by a foot injury that Maddox rehabbed well enough to play in the tough loss to Kansas City, and then in 2023 Maddox tore a pectoral muscle in Week 2 of the season. He returned to play in the final regular-season game and the postseason outing. Maddox had 12 tackles, two passes defensed, and a forced fumble in the regular season. Maddox's teammates recognized his perseverance and dedication by selecting him as the recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award for the 2023 season.

The Eagles anticipate competition in the secondary with the return of Maddox, the addition of cornerback Tyler Hall – who has played much of his four-year career at the nickel spot – and cornerback Zech McPhearson, who is returning from an Achilles injury.

Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson joins incumbent starting corners Darius Slay and James Bradberry along with starting safety Reed Blankenship. The Eagles are also excited to see the Year 1 to Year 2 jump from some of their younger players in the secondary, including cornerbacks Kelee Ringo and Eli Ricks, along with safety Sydney Brown, who is recovering from a torn ACL suffered in Week 18 of the 2023 season.