Philadelphia Eagles

Kiko Alonso: I'm looking forward to experiencing the 'ramped up' Eagles fan base

Published May. 15, 2015 2:07 p.m. ET

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Trading a player who earned Defensive Rookie of the Year honors doesn't often happen. But when the Buffalo Bills got an offer they felt like they couldn't refuse, they completed a deal that sent Kiko Alonso to the Philadelphia Eagles. As expected, the trade caught Alonso by surprise, but he's not dwelling over it. Alonso already feels right at home right the Eagles thanks to a coaching staff and roster made up of several of Alonso's teammates, coaches and opponents from his college days at Oregon.

"It's been an awesome transition, very smooth," Alonso said to Dave Spadaro of Eagles.com. "There are so many guys I know here, from the coaches on down, that it's been great. It's exciting to be here.

"I had never experienced being traded, of course, but once it happened and it sunk in, I almost felt I was right at home," Alonso said. "When you get traded, at first, it's a surprise. I never envisioned being traded -- that soon, at least. At the end of the day it's football, and football is football. This is my job so you have to go out and do your job."

Alonson will always have a place in his heart for his time with the Bills. His experience there helped him become a better player thanks in large part to the coaches he worked with and the fans.

"Walking into that defense, they wanted me to be the starter, which was definitely nice and we do a lot of similar things here that we did there," Alonso said. "I was very close with Mike Pettine (then the Buffalo defensive coordinator and now the head coach in Cleveland). That whole staff and all of those players really helped me. It was a good experience. Having the fans back me like that was nice and I enjoyed it. It was similar to Oregon. It was a blue-collar fan base, people live and die with the team and it's awesome when you're around a fan base like that."

Alonso is especially excited about playing for a new fan base that is supposed to rival or trumph the two teams' bases that he has played for at Oregon and in Buffalo.

"I haven't been around the fan base here that much, but the other players tell me how they are." Alonso said. They say these fans are even more ramped up, so I'm looking forward to experiencing that."

Alonso will be competing for a starting inside linebacker spot against a talented group that includes 2014 starters DeMeco Ryans and Mychal Kendricks. Alonso is believed to have the upper hand, but first he will have to prove that he is the same player he was before his knee surgery.

"When you're out a year, you're just licking your chops," Alonso said. "At the same time you have to be careful because you're coming back from major surgery. You've got to pace yourself, but you have to remember you were out a year. I will be ready when we can hit. I'm looking forward to that a lot."

Alonso will get a chance to prove himself in pads, but it won't come until training camp. For now, he can get a jump start on his goal by mastering Bill Davis' defensive scheme.

(h/t Philadelphia Eagles)

Photo Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig/USA TODAY Sports