Getty Bill Belichick won't reveal his future plans for Kyle Dugger.
As the NFL trade deadline nears, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick addressed one of the players garnering significant trade speculation.
Veteran safety Kyle Dugger has one season left on his four-year, $8.33 million deal, which means he could test free agency in 2024. The Patriots could trade him by the Tuesday, October 31, deadline instead.
Belichick didn’t give anything away when he talked with WEEI and later the media on Monday, October 30. The Patriots recently stumbled to 2-6 after a 31-17 defeat against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, October 29.
“Yeah, of course,” Belichick told WEEI regarding if he wants to keep Dugger in New England. “Absolutely.”
But Belichick’s answer regarding Dugger’s contract left much to be desired.
“No, I’m not going to get into any contract conversations,” Belichick responded.
With the broader news media, Belichick only talked about Dugger’s performance. The fourth-year safety tallied a sack, an interception, and nine tackles in the loss.
“Yeah, Kyle had a lot of production yesterday,” Belichick told reporters. “When Ja’Whaun [Bentley] went out, he took over the signal calling. So, he does a good job in that area. Kyle’s a smart kid that helps us in a lot of different ways. He’s a versatile player in the running game, passing game, [and] kicking game. He had a productive day yesterday.”
Bill Belichick Addresses Trade Deadline Plans
While Belichick wears both hats as head coach and general manager, he said little about the trade deadline. A team with the Patriots’ record could make moves to build for the future amid contenders looking for help in the second half of the season.
“Yeah, we just got back from Miami late last night, so working through the game and we’ll deal with that here over the — whatever period of time there is — I don’t know,” Belichick said.
Belichick likewise said the results of personnel department meetings “It will depend on what we’re talking about, I don’t know” regarding potential trades.
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Though Belichick takes on both the head coaching and general manager roles, he doesn’t do all of the decision making himself. He spoke at length on how the personnel and coaching departments support the decisions being made on a day-to-day basis.
“Personnel department handles personnel. Coaching department handles coaching, and we join together on a regular basis to talk about both,” Belichick explained. “If things come up that are applicable, then we act on them.”
“So, if we need something on a coaching end, we make the personnel department aware of that. If they see an opportunity that would help the team, then we talk about that. So, that’s the same way it’s been ever since I’ve been here. I mean, different people doing it but that’s what we do,” Belichick continued.
“I mean, I can’t keep track of all the personnel in the league, [are] you kidding me? And, out of the league, guys that are available, free agent work outs and all that. That’s not just one person in the personnel department, that’s pro personnel, college personnel, advanced scouting,” Belichick concluded. “I mean, there’s a lot of people involved in that, just like there’s a lot of people involved in the coaching end of it.”