Stop me if you've heard this before.
The Miami Dolphins are making a huge splash move with the intention of closing the gap between their bottom-feeding roster and the New England Patriots atop the AFC East.
No, I'm not talking about 2013, when the Dolphins signed wide receiver Mike Wallace to a 5-year, $60 million contract, linebacker Dannell Ellerbe to a 5-year, $35 million contract, linebacker Philip Wheeler to a 5-year, $26 million contract, tight end Dustin Keller, and cornerback Brent Grimes.
No, I'm not talking about 2014, when the Dolphins signed left tackle Branden Albert to a 5-year, $47 million contract, cornerback Cortland Finnegan to a 2-year, $11 million contract, safety Louis Delmas, defensive tackle Earl Mitchell, and running back Knowshon Moreno.
No, I'm not talking about 2015, when the Dolphins signed defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh to a 6-year, $114 million contract, tight end Jordan Cameron to a 2-year, $15 million contract, or wide receiver Greg Jennings.
I'm talking about the three-time offseason champion Miami Dolphins making the first move of their title defense.
Kiko Alonso & Byron Maxwell have both been informed they are being traded to the #Dolphins, pending physicals, source said. It's happening
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 7, 2016
Former Eagles CB Byron Maxwell is coming off a rough first season with the Eagles after signing a 6-year, $63 million contract, and Philadelphia just acquired LB Kiko Alonso from the Bills in exchange for running back LeSean McCoy, who promptly gained 99 yards per game for Buffalo (6th most of any running back with 10+ games in 2015). The Dolphins are trading away draft picks for this dangerous duo.
The move reeks of Executive Vice President of Football Operations Mike Tannenbaum, which should ring a bell since he served as General Manager of the Jets for a number of years. Tannenbaum has a penchant for trading away draft capital in exchange for veterans, which makes sense, except it always leaves the team incredibly top heavy because he doesn't leave room for depth. It's the anti-Bill Belichick team building strategy.
This will eat up a fair chunk of the Dolphins cap space, which means that defensive end Olivier Vernon probably won't return and the Miami pass rush will consist of Suh, a 34-year-old Cameron Wake coming off a torn Achilles, and probably Miami's 1st round pick.
Congratulations to Miami for making the first major move this offseason to grab the inside lane on the impressive task of winning four-straight offseason championships.
Oh, and if Tom Brady needs any incentive to pick on Byron Maxwell, just look at this GIF of Maxwell pretending to check the ball pressure of a Patriots football during New England's Super Bowl XLIX victory. Welcome to the AFC East.