The Philadelphia Eagles have stayed busy since firing Chip Kelly, but made the biggest move of their 2016 offseason so far. The team informed both cornerback Byron Maxwell and linebacker Kiko Alonso that they will be traded to the Miami Dolphins, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, who says the trade is only pending physicals.
Eagles to trade Byron Maxwell, Kiko Alonso to the Dolphins, per report
Byron Maxwell and Kiko Alonso were high-profile additions in the 2015 offseason for the Eagles, but are reportedly headed to Miami.
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Although terms of the deal have not been disclosed, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said it would involve draft pick compensation for the Eagles.
Both Maxwell and Alonso were acquired in the 2015 offseason that was fronted by Kelly, with Alonso coming in a trade that sent running back LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills.
Alonso, 25, made an early impact with the Eagles, hauling in a stellar one-handed interception in Week 1, but was ineffective for most of the remainder of the season and never forced another turnover. After becoming a folk hero of sorts in his rookie season with the Buffalo Bills, Alonso suffered an ACL tear that cost him the entire 2014 season, so the Dolphins could be getting a young linebacker with plenty of potential who just needed more time to recover from injury.
The biggest win of the trade for the Eagles is moving on from the contract the team gave Maxwell a year ago. The cornerback signed a six-year, $63 million deal with the team and is due to receive $8.5 million in 2016, and at least $9.5 million in each of the final four years of the contract. The trade to the Dolphins will likely change that, though, and the team is already discussing new contract terms with the cornerback, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.
While Maxwell’s play didn’t match the amount of money he received, his struggles may have been exaggerated some. He was torched in the first few games of the season and that stuck in the minds of many, even after he upped his play in the last three months of 2015.
The Dolphins cleared some cap space earlier in the offseason by releasing players like Quinton Coples, Greg Jennings and Brent Grimes, and also restructured the contracts of Ndamukong Suh and Koa Misi.
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