Dolphins linebacker Kiko Alonso survived roster cuts on Saturday, but not for long. Only one day after the Dolphins made a blockbuster trade, sending left tackle Laremy Tunsil and wide receiver Kenny Stills to the Texans for a package of draft picks, they sent Alonso to the New Orleans Saints. Reports say the received linebacker Vince Biegel in return.
Biegel is 26 years old and came out of Wisconsin. He played in nine games for Green Bay in 2017 and 14 for New Orleans last season. He has a career total of only 14 tackles, with two for loss. Alonso, who is 29 years old, has a total of 556 tackles playing for Buffalo, Philadelphia, and Miami over his six-year career.
Given their stats, it’s clear that there was more involved in this trade than pure talent alone. Alonso was scheduled to make $6.485 million with a dead cap hit of $2.55 million for this season, with another $6.375 million due next season. Biegel is on a single-year contract that he signed with the Saints for a measly $645k, making him a valuable bench piece for this new-look Miami team. Depending on how he plays he could see a contract extension as well, making this essentially a try-out for him on his new team.
Clearing that cap space should provide some flexibility going forward and give the Saints some much-needed strength at a previously weak position on the outside of their linebacking corps. Alonso joins middle linebacker Alex Anzalone and AJ Klein to really help beef up their defense. They are hoping this improves their chances of making the Super Bowl. The move makes sense for both sides.
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Andrew Hall is a writer for PFN covering Fantasy Football. You can follow him @AndrewHallFF on Twitter.