Former Eagles linebacker Kiko Alonso just got a lot of money from the Dolphins

Kiko Alonso isn’t doing too bad for himself since the Eagles traded him away to the Dolphins last offseason. The 26-year-old linebacker just signed a four-year contract extension with Miami reportedly worth $29 million with $18.5 million guaranteed.

This news should come as a surprise to Eagles fans. Alonso was very, very bad for Philadelphia in 2015. He missed a ton of tackles and regularly appeared to be out of position in coverage. It’s true that he was banged up, but injuries are part of the problem with him.

Alonso posted better stats with the Dolphins in 2016 than he had in one season with the Eagles. In 15 games played, he recorded 69 tackles (nice), two interceptions, four passes defensed, one forced fumble, four fumble recoveries, and one defensive touchdown.

I can’t say I watched a lot of Dolphins tape last year, so it’s hard for me to offer an opinion on how Alonso performed. If you put any stock into Pro Football Focus grades, Alonso was only 48th out of 87 linebackers last season. (Jordan Hicks was fifth and Nigel Bradham was ninth.)

Alonso’s extension seems like a lot of money to me. Alonso’s annual value in the extension he received is the fifth most of any inside linebacker. His guaranteed money is the third highest amount.

Alonso was a total flop in Philadelphia after the Eagles (more specifically, Chip Kelly) traded franchise leading rusher LeSean McCoy to the Bills in exchange for him. The Eagles then moved Alonso (along with Byron Maxwell) to the Dolphins last offseason in order to move up from No. 13 to No. 8 in the 2016 NFL Draft. From there, the Eagles traded with the Browns to move up from No. 8 to No. 2 in order to get Carson Wentz.