The Patriots spent more money on Sunday morning and they spent it on one of their own guys again too.

The new approach of taking care of your own is a good one if you’re a rebuilding organization and seemingly a fairly easy decision if you have talented guys, but it wasn’t always the case under Bill Belichick.

Kyle Dugger – who was not happy with the ‘transition’ tag at the start of free agency – did still want to be a Patriot as he said a few different times last season. Well, he will be for at least four more years as Eric Edholm and Mike Garafolo reported the Patriots are re-signing the 2020 2nd rounder to a four-year, $58 million deal that could max out at $66 million. Dugger is also getting $32 million guaranteed, making him the fifth-highest paid safety in the league.

While some may question giving Dugger that amount given the fact that he’s not always the best in coverage, his leadership in a rebuilding locker room and his ability to lay the wood in the run game makes this the right decision for Eliot Wolf and Jerod Mayo. The new emphasis on culture has been evident since Day 1 of the Mayo era and the re-signings of guys like Dugger, Onwenu, Bourne, Henry and others speak volumes to the rest of the team that hard work and going about business the right way will get you rewarded.

That hasn’t always been the case.

In April of 2020 when Dugger was taken, the pick was mocked because of how little-known Lenoir-Rhyne was. Dugger quickly showed he had the ability to be one of the hardest-hitting safeties in the league. Dugger and Jabrill Peppers are tone setters on this defense that desperately needs strong voices in the back end.

Whether you believed there were better free agent options out there (personally would have loved to see former BC man Justin Simmons land here), this is another solid move by the new regime and it should continue spreading good well throughout the organization.