The New Orleans’ linebacker Kiko Alonso has officially retired from the NFL, according to a report by Brooke Kirchhofer of WWL-TV in New Orleans.
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
The report came a day after Alonso joined a practice session with the Saints. Earlier this week, the Saints announced that they re-signed Alonso after the linebacker joined them in the 2019 season.
Alonso had spent a total of six seasons in the major league before his retirement.
Alonso’s career, injury
Alonso made a debut in the major league with the Buffalo Bills in 2013. He was drafted after playing college football at the University of Oregon. In his rookie year with the Bills, Alonso earned 159 tackles which made him finish second for the 2013 Defensive Rookie of the Year.
During the offseason, Alonso sustained an injury in his Achilles heel and was sidelined for the entirety of the 2014 season.
The Bills traded Alonso to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2015 to acquire running back LeSean McCoy. However, Alonso only managed to play 11 games in the 2015 season. In the following season, the Eagles traded Alonso to the Miami Dolphins.
His career went up again as he spent three seasons with the Miami team. Every year with the Dolphins, Alonso garnered more than 100 tackles. In three years, he played a total of 46 games. Before the beginning of the 2019 season, Alonso was traded to the Saints.
At that season, Alonso was the backup for the New Orleans team. He participated in 13 games. With the Saints, he made 31 tackles, four starts, and one pass defense.
However, during a playoff against the Minnesota Vikings, Alonso suffered a knee injury which placed him on the bench again.
He went into rehabilitation under the Saints, before moving to the San Francisco 49ers. Alonso did not join any game during his time at San Francisco and distanced himself from football altogether in 2021.
His re-signing with the Saints for the following season was his attempt to come back to football, as reports suggested. His first NFL appearance after 2019 was during the training camp with the Saints this week.
Throughout his career, Alonso has recorded 588 tackles (369 solo), 10 interceptions, three sacks, 17 passes defended, seven forced fumbles, and seven fumble recoveries.
Reactions
According to Saints writer Katherine Terrell, Alonso did not retire due to an injury, but rather because he “changed his mind.” Alonso also told the reporter that he had been away from football for a long time and that it was difficult to return as he could not put “100 percent in”.
I'm told Alonso's retirement wasn't anything medical. He honestly just changed his mind. Football is a huge commitment and it's hard to do without being 100 percent in, especially after being away so long. Same thing with Patrick Robinson last year when he realized he was done.
— Katherine Terrell (@Kat_Terrell) August 6, 2022
Many people in the sports community, including sports analysts and fellow athletes, had showered Alonso with praise after reports of his retirement went out. They said they respected Alonso for “being honest with himself”.
“That was fast. But credit to Alonso for a quick decision,” sports writer Ian Rapoport wrote on his Twitter account.
“The legend of Kiko was fun for the relatively short time it lasted,” Howard WGR also tweeted.
Reports that Kiko Alonso has retired. Here’s to the memories. https://t.co/w1U4DhDTKW
— Prescott Rossi (@PrescottRossi) August 6, 2022