Getty Kyle Dugger, Patriots safety
When the Patriots traded out of the first round of the NFL draft in 2020, then used their top pick in the second round to take a sixth-year college senior from Div. II Lenoir-Rhyne, there was ample outrage in New England. But over time, Kyle Dugger has developed into a reliable pro and one of the league’s best tackling safeties.
He was a starter in his rookie year, had four interceptions in his second season and three last year, two of which he ran back for touchdowns. There’s still some outrage among the Pats faithful who wanted New England to pick Eagles star Jalen Hurts, but it has mostly dissipated.
Dugger’s rookie contract, though, is up after this season, and while the Patriots have ample cap space—a projected $80 million, according to Spotrac—available in 2024, they will need to make some tough decisions on whom they pay, especially if they want a big-ticket item to address the team’s sagging offense.
And that’s where a guy like Dugger could be had—and, as Bleacher Report projects, should be had—by a rival. In this case, it’s the Green Bay Packers, the youngest team in the NFL. It is a team noted for not being aggressive on the free-agent market but one certainly looking to boost its defensive backfield.
Kyle Dugger ‘An Intriguing Option’
Here’s what B/R had to say about the potential of Dugger heading to the upper Midwest in 2024:
“Green Bay has several safeties playing on contract years this season, including starter Darnell Savage. So the Packers will be in the market for at least one defensive back, and Dugger will be an intriguing option in free agency given his ability to play all over the field. It also doesn’t hurt that he has about 250 tackles and seven interceptions in 47 career games.”
Dugger graded out with a 78.4 at Pro Football Focus for last season, the best of his career and 11th in the NFL among safeties. This year, with New England’s defensive backfield scattered because of a tidal wave of injuries, Dugger is down a peg with a grade of 72.4 at PFF, which is 21st in the league, but he remains among the best run-stopping defensive backs in the NFL.
Folks in Geen Bay know that has been a bit of an issue for the Packers this season. Overall, the Packers have allowed 621 rushing yards this season, which ranks 30th in the NFL, and have yielded 200 yards on the ground twice, against the Falcons and against the Lions. They’ve also allowed two 100-yard rushers this season, Bijan Robinson of Atlanta and David Montgomery of the Lions.
Patriots Have Many Free-Agent Decisions in 2024
As for Dugger, he has pushed off all questions about his future and his contract this season. The Patriots will have difficult decisions to make on players like Myles Bryant, Josh Uche and Ja’Whaun Bentley on the defensive side, and plenty of tough calls on the offensive side: linemen Michael Onwenu and Trent Brown; receiver Kendrick Bourne; running back Ezekiel Elliott; and tight end Hunter Henry.
When he was asked about staying in New England this offseason, Dugger gave the standard response, that he would be leaving all that up to his agent.
“I don’t really have a timeline on (negotiations),” he told the Boston Herald in the locker room last month. “I’m just trying to focus. We got a game on Sunday. So I’m just thinking about that and let my agent kind of handle everything. So (that’s) their business, and I’ve gotta handle my business.”
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Patriots’ Kyle Dugger Tabbed as Target for Young NFC Team