Right or wrong, the Chip Kelly era in Philadelphia negatively framed the careers of a few veterans and promising young players.
One of them in desperate need of a solid season elsewhere is Kiko Alonso, the former Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate and second-round pick by the Buffalo Bills. Alonso was traded to the Eagles after missing the previous season with a torn ACL and played in 11 games last year, registering 30 tackles and an interception. Where a seasoned observer might think that Alonso simply needed more time to recover from the ACL and build his strength back up, others allowed the young linebacker to get washed into a narrative about Chip Kelly players.
Thankfully, Alonso is getting a good early review in Miami. He was traded again this offseason along with cornerback Byron Maxwell.
"He's fast," Dolphins linebacker Koa Misi said, via the team's official site. "He can make plays. I'm not sure where everybody is playing this year, but I watched him when he was in Buffalo. He was a great player. We'll see what he can do for us this year."
Misi added: "I've actually trained with Kiko a couple of times this offseason already. He seems like a good guy. It's going to be nice to have him out there on the field with us and hopefully we can do some big things."
While we're a month away from full-blown hyperbole season, where every player is in the best shape of his life and poised to have the greatest season ever, it's interesting to see a player like Alonso getting a fresh start elsewhere.
Misi wasn't exactly layering on the praise, saying that Alonso was fast and a good guy. But for once, expectations might be reasonable for him.
