Former Oregon Ducks LB Kiko Alonso Traded to Philadelphia
Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach Chip Kelly has never been known to be a man to think small and on Tuesday he shook the Football World in trading away the National Football League’s leading rusher the last five years in Running Back LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills for the NFL’s Leading Defender last season in Kiko Alonso. Does the move make sense? I believe it does.
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It replaces an aging running back who was very successful in his time in Philly with a younger player with a ton of upside. Every player is of course, prone to injury. There is of course the business reason too.
, McCoy meant over $11 million in cap space for the season and when the team’s leading rusher sees his number drop compared to last season from 5.1 yards to 4.2 yards per carry the decision seems a little easier.
Philadelphia has been busy this week in making salary cap room in anticipation of Free Agency which begins in less than a week. Kelly now has some holes to fill. The trade will not be official until next Tuesday. Alonso had numerous leg and knee surgeries in College which caused him to miss playing time, but old wounds appear to have healed just fine as Alonso was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2015.
Philadelphia is once again becoming the brunt of the ‘Oregon Eagles’ joke that has been going around ever since Kelly became Head Coach. Many are wondering if this is just the beginning for Philly in the Quest to Pick Up Former Oregon Quarterback Marcus Mariota. Time will tell, but younger and speedy players has always been part of Kelly’s playbook and in this trade that trend will continue.