It was only one year ago that the Philadelphia Eagles handed full personnel power to Chip Kelly, while simultaneously pushing former GM Howie Roseman to the periphery of the organization. At the same time, the Miami Dolphins, under the guiding hand of Joe Philbin, spent big in the offseason, landing Ndamukong Suh on what was, at the time, the richest contract ever handed to a defensive player in NFL history.
Fast forward 12 months and the Eagles and Dolphins are back to making big moves, only one franchise is trying to turn back the clock as the other doubles down on a formula that has yet to bring them consistent success.
The Eagles and Dolphins are expected to finalize a trade when the new NFL league year begins Wednesday at 4 p.m. involving Eagles cornerback Byron Maxwell and linebacker Kiko Alonso. There's been no confirmation yet regarding what the compensation will be, although it has been referred to as "a pick" by more than one outlet. But it sounds like the Alonso portion of the deal is done pending a physical, while the Dolphins want to work out a new deal with Maxwell before going forward with the trade.
As things currently stand, Maxwell is slated to count $9.7 million against the cap in 2016, and $11.2 million in each of 2017, 2018 and 2019. The final year of the deal carries a hit of $10.75 million.
The 28-year-old Maxwell wasn't an absolute bust during his first season in Philly, but he wasn't up to bearing the standard of a shutdown corner, which is what the Eagles paid for. He only nabbed two interceptions, though he did allow just two touchdowns, but the Eagles and Roseman clearly feel that getting out from under Maxwell's contract was more important than keeping a good, if not great, talent at one of their outside spots.
Alonso, on the other hand, is just 25, but suffered through an injury-riddled and ultimately ineffective 2015 campaign. After a stellar rookie season wherein he collected 159 tackles, 2 sacks, one forced fumble and 4 interceptions, Alonso lost his 2014 to a knee injury. Despite being declared healthy after his offseason trade to Philly, Alonso never looked quite right in Philly and appeared in just 11 games in 2015, managing only 43 tackles and one interception.
The Eagles are apparently already showing interest in a potential replacement for Alonso, former Detroit Lions linebacker Tahir Whitehead. Whitehead has played for new Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz in the past and at 6-foot-2, 242-pounds has the versatility to line up in just about any linebackingp position in the 4-3.
It's clear that Roseman is trying to alter the makeup of the Eagles roster so that it no longer reflects Kelly's influence at the same time as Mike Tannenbaum and the Dolphins are trying to build out Adam Gase's defense.
With Brent Grimes headed out the door, the Dolphins are incredibly thin on the outside. Maxwell immediately fills and upgrades one of those spots at the same time as Alonso, at a very cheap figure, slots in at one of their outside linebacker spots. There's no guarantee that Alonso will stick beyond 2016, but it gives the team a chance to evaluate him on the cheap.
