One of the critical assets used by the Eagles to move up in the 2016 NFL draft has walked away from the game, as Kiko Alonso has retired.
Brooke Kirchhofer of WWL-TV in New Orleans is reporting that the linebacker retired just one day after joining the Saints on a one-year deal.
Kiko Alonso has retired, per source.
The #Saints brought him in for one training camp practice, after playing the 2019 season in New Orleans. He’s decided to hang it up after 6 seasons in the #NFL @WWLTV
— Brooke Kirchhofer (@brookechesney) August 6, 2022
Saints head coach Dennis Allen recently spoke about how productive Alonso can be when healthy, but it appears the former University of Oregon star had a change of heart.
Initially drafted in the second round of the 2013 draft, Alonso was acquired by the Eagles in 2015 when then head coach Chip Kelly infamously traded the franchise’s all-time rushing leader, LeSean McCoy, to the Bills.
Alonso was rehabbing from a partially torn ACL tear when traded and never returned to his pre-injury form for the Eagles.
Alonso was eventually traded to the Dolphins along with Byron Maxwell and the No. 13 pick in the 2016 NFL draft for the No. 8 overall pick.
Philadelphia would ultimately acquire the No. 2 pick from the Browns, and the team selected North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz with the pick.
