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Last year the Jets were the AFC East team making a splash in March, this year that title has passed to South Beach as the Miami Dolphins continue to revamp their defensive unit ahead of the new season.
Earlier this week it was announced that the Dolphins had agreed to trade with the Philadelphia Eagles for Byron Maxwell and Kiko Alonso. Last night they announced the signing of Mario Williams.
The Dolphins allowed 376.2 yards per game in 2015, which was the 8th highest in the NFL. With Olivier Vernon being given the transition tag and Cameron Wake coming off a Achilles injury at the age of 34, the Dolphins decided to ink former Biller pass rusher Mario Williams to a contract. Williams was recently released by Rex Ryan and the Bills following a disappointing campaign where he recorded just 5 sacks and 19 total tackles. Had Williams have stayed in Buffalo, he would have counted over $19 million against the cap.
The trade for Byron Maxwell and Kiko Alonso came as a little bit of a surprise. Both players spent just a single year in Philadelphia, however following the departure of Chip Kelly, the roster was always going to undergo a transformation. In return the Eagles will receive draft compensation. How much draft compensation we don't know right now, but all will be revealed at some point over the next 24/48 hours. Only then will we be able to summarize whether the Dolphins aid too much.
Byron Maxwell signed a 6 year $63 million contract with the Eagles last year after finding success as a member of the Legion of Boom in Seattle. However the 5th year player struggled with the expectation of being a teams #1 corner recording just 2 interceptions and experiencing problems in coverage against the leagues best receivers.
Kiko Alonso burst onto the scenes with Buffalo in 2013 recording 159 tackles, 2 sacks and 4 interceptions. However during the 2014 off-season, Kiko tore his ACL while working out in Oregon and missed the entire season. Following the 2014 season, Alonso was traded to the Eagles for unwanted running back LeSean McCoy. Unfortunately for Kiko, he experienced a partial tear in his repaired knee early in the 2015 season and missed significant time resulting in a sub-par season.
All three players will look to rebuild their reputation with the Miami Dolphins.