Avonte Maddox is staying home.
The Lions have re-signed the veteran defensive back and Detroit native who returned to his roots last season to play for his hometown team.
Maddox proved to be a useful and versatile member of the Lions' secondary last year as injuries thinned out their depth at safety. He played in 14 games, including three starts down the stretch when Detroit was without top safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch. The bulk of his snaps came at free safety, where Maddox graded out well in pass coverage and against the run.
Both Joseph (knee) and Branch (Achilles) are rehabbing injuries that could impact them next season, so fortifying the roster behind those two makes sense.
Maddox, an eight-year vet who spent his first seven seasons with the Eagles, is the fifth defensive back the Lions have either signed or re-signed this offseason, joining returner Rock Ya-Sin and free agents Christian Izien, Roger McCreary and Chuck Clark. Maddox, Izien and Clark all have experience at safety.
