Detroit Lions re-sign safety Avonte Maddox
The Detroit Lions have re-signed Avonte Maddox to bolster their safety depth for 2026.
DETROIT,MICHIGAN-December21: Cornerback Avonte Maddox (29) of the Detroit Lions runs on the field ahead of an NFL football game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Detroit Lions in Detroit, Michigan USA, on Sunday, December 21, 2025. (Photo by Amy Lemus/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images Suddenly, the Detroit Lions’ safety room is feeling a bit crowded. On Monday, the Lions announced that they’ve re-signed veteran defensive back Avonte Maddox.
Immediate contract details were not made available. Maddox returns to the team after a very solid first season in Detroit in 2025. The former fourth-round pick spent his first seven season with the Philadelphia Eagles, but last year he signed a one-year, $1.
4 million deal to help out with secondary depth. Capable of playing both nickel and safety, Maddox opened the season as a reserve, playing just 43 defensive snaps through the first nine weeks of the season. However, when the injury bug hit the Lions’ safety room hard in the back half of the season, Maddox stepped up and played good, sound football on the Lions’ defensive back-end.
He was particularly helpful after Brian Branch went down with a torn Achilles against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 14. “Maddox went in there for him the other day and we thought he did a hell of a job, he really did,” coach Dan Campbell said in December. “I mean, he played his tail off which is why he’s here, because he’s a football guy.