September 20, 2023

Eagles made some roster moves

Avonte Maddox goes on IR and Britain Covey comes back up from the practice squad.

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Kate Frese/For PhillyVoice

Eagles punt returner Britain Covey during the Week 2 matchup against the Vikings at Lincoln Financial Field on September 14, 2023.

The Philadelphia Eagles made three roster moves on Wednesday. Let's cover each of them.

They placed Avonte Maddox on injured reserve

Maddox was scheduled to have surgery this week to repair a torn pectoral muscle, per Ian Rapoport.

#Eagles DB Avonte Maddox will have surgery this week to repair a torn pec, sources say after an MRI and additional opinions. The injury will keep him out indefinitely, potentially for the season.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 18, 2023

As such his placement on injured reserve was a given.

Slot corner is a position where the Eagles don't have proven depth. In Maddox's absence last Thursday night against the Vikings, 2022 UDFA Mario Goodrich filled in and played 39 snaps. That was the first regular season action of Goodrich's career.

As noted in our snap count analysis, the oft-injured Maddox missed games at three different junctures during the season in 2022:

He missed the Eagles' Week 4 and 5 games vs. the Jaguars and Cardinals.
He missed the Eagles' Week 10, 11, 12, and 13 games vs. the Commanders, Colts, Packers, and Titans.
He missed the Eagles' Week 17, 18, and divisional round games against the Saints, Giants, and the Giants again.

Maddox also missed three games in 2018, four games in 2019, and six games in 2020. He is one of the best slot corners in the NFL when healthy, but it seems there will always be durability concerns.

As we noted in our five matchups to watch, assuming James Bradberry recovers from his concussion in time to play Monday night, it feels like the Eagles will start Bradberry and Darius Slay, with Bradberry sliding inside to the slot in nickel looks and Josh Jobe playing outside.

It's likely that Howie Roseman is looking outside the organization for added depth in the slot.

PR Britain Covey will join the active roster from the practice squad

Covey had a very good second half of the season in 2022 as the team's primary punt returner, and he got out to a fast start in 2023 with a 25-yard punt return against the Patriots. However, he fumbled against the Vikings Week 2, fueling heat from the Covey haters.

RB Bryant Koback was signed to the practice squad

Koback (6'0, 210) had 208 carries for 1400 yards (6.7 YPC) and 15 TDs for Toledo in 2021. The Vikings signed him as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2022. He has also spent time on the Seahawks' practice squad. He has not appeared in an NFL game.

The Eagles did not already have a running back on their practice squad. Now they do. 🤷‍♂️

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