Another important player for the Philadelphia Eagles has announced his retirement due to heartbreak.
Kiko Alonso has retired from the NFL, leaving behind one of the key pieces the Eagles utilized to advance in the 2016 draft.
Just one day after signing a one-year contract with the Saints, the linebacker announced his retirement, according to WWL-TV’s Brooke Kirchhofer in New Orleans.
Dennis Allen, the head coach of the Saints, recently mentioned how effective Alonso can be when healthy, but it seems the former standout player from the University of Oregon changed his mind.
When former head coach Chip Kelly notoriously dealt the team’s all-time leading rusher, LeSean McCoy, to the Bills in 2015, Alonso—who had originally been selected in the second round of the 2013 draft—was acquired by the Eagles.
When moved, Alonso was recovering from a partially torn ACL tear, and he never got back to the Eagles’ pre-injury level.
In the end, Alonso was traded for the eighth overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft by the Dolphins, along with Byron Maxwell and the No. 13 pick.
The Browns would eventually give Philadelphia the No. 2 pick, and the team chose quarterback Carson Wentz of North Dakota State.
