Kiko Alonso doesn’t want to move outside for Dolphins
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins are hoping to get Kiko Alonso under contract and there have been rumors that they want to move Alonso outside where he excelled as a rookie in Buffalo. That might have a new wrinkle.
Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald is reporting that Alonso does not want to move outside. As Salguero puts it Alonso views the interior as his position. In 2016 Alonso had his best statistical season since his rookie campaign. He had 115 tackles to lead the team and two interceptions. One of which was a game winning pick-six. Add four passes defensed and pressure on the QB and Alonso impressed.
Salguero points out that Alonso has never played in back-to-back seasons with the same defensive system. With the departure of Vance Joseph to Denver as their new HC and the promotion of Matt Burke to DC the Dolphins defensive system isn’t expected to change.
115 tackles and four fumble recoveries and also had a forced fumble, four passes defensed, two interceptions and six quarterback hits.
Alonso will enter the free agent market as a restricted free agent and the Dolphins would receive compensation if they lose and choose not to match. That is once they tender him. Still the prospect of Alonso not wanting to play outside creates a problem for the Dolphins as Salguero points out in the link above.
How do you approach free agency?
If Alonso wants to stay inside and the Dolphins feel they need to move him outside then there could be some friction. Salguero says in his article that Alonso has personally told him on at least two occasions that he didn’t have a problem moving outside but this could be a change in thought from Alonso.
Salguero points out the importance of this information ahead of free agency and suggests that the Dolphins may not know his desire, something that will change soon enough but if Miami is targeting inside and Alonso wants to stay inside, Miami may want to rethink their plans or at the very least sit down with Alonso. It’s a good article by Salguero be sure to check it out.