Miami Dolphins may have tipped intentions with Kiko Alonso

The Miami Dolphins may be keeping Kiko Alonso despite some in the media who speculated that he could be released for salary cap savings.

As the Miami Dolphins get ready to pare down their roster before the league new year begins on March 13th, many have speculated that Kiko Alonso could be a cap casualty as the team rebuilds the roster. That may not be the case if we are to believe a tweet from the teams official Twitter account.

Last year the Dolphins did similar promotional stuff around Ryan Tannehill and while Alonso is not the face of the franchise, the promotion of the linebacker could be an indication that he is viewed as part of the immediate future of the team.

The account is correct in that Alonso had a very good year in 2018 with 125 tackles and three interceptions to go with three forced fumbles but he was also flagged several times for hitting quarterbacks as they slid to the ground.

Alonso will count over $8 million on this years cap. Releasing him would save the team $4.7 million with $3.5 million in dead money. Next year the team would eat just over $1 million but save almost $7 million by releasing him.

Miami is expected to start on the offensive and defensive interiors as they start reshaping the roster so linebacker may not be a priority this off-season. Nothing about the tweet indicates that Alonso will definitely be back but it is interesting that they would promote him in an off-season that will have a lot of expected change.

Alonso has actually played well for the Dolphins after having been drafted by the Bills and then traded to the Eagles. He arrived in Miami after the Dolphins swapped first round draft positions with the Eagles three years ago. That trade included Byron Maxwell who was released in 2017.