FOXBOROUGH – During his usual Wednesday press conference, Jerod Mayo announced that Ja’Whaun Bentley was officially going on season-ending injured reserve.
Not only is he a loss on the field, but as a four-time captain, there’s a level of leadership there that’s now missing too.
Enter Kyle Dugger.
Mayo also announced that Dugger has been named a defensive captain in place of Bentley, who will still be around the team when he can be.
“I thought it was important to – just to go back and kind of talk about my experience. As you guys know, there are a few seasons there where I was hurt at the end. Well, more than one. So, I was a captain seven out of eight years, but I remember getting hurt early in the season, and then Coach [Belichick] approached me and said, ‘Hey, do you mind if we had another captain?’ and I didn’t. So, I had a conversation with Bentley, and the same thing with him, obviously not being in the building every single day right now as he goes through the rehab process. But I did ask him; I said that to me, it’s important that we still have leadership and representation for that side of the ball,” Mayo explained.
“When we did the votes for captain, and once again, this is voted on by their peers. It was very close. It was very close, and I’m happy to announce today a guy that has done a tremendous job for us, has really shown a lot of growth on the field and off the field, and that’s Kyle Dugger. So, Dugger is now a captain for us.”
Dugger is more than deserving of the opportunity. Now in his fifth year with the team and after receiving a new deal in the offseason, it’s clear that No. 23 is one of the foundational pieces of the new-look Patriots moving forward. Not only is he a physical tone setter, but he’s a quiet leader in his own way – although even that;s evolving too – he’s a guy other teammates can look to as a ‘that’s how you should go about your business’ type of mentor.
“I would say here over the last few years, he’s done a tremendous job mentoring those young guys and even the older guys,” added Mayo. “I had a conversation with [Jabrill] Peppers today, and he talked about how important it was for him to learn from Dugger and Devin [McCourty], and that just talks about his leadership style. It’s a little different. It’s mostly through just the way he approaches the game. But I would say here as of late, this year and last year, he’s been more vocal, which I definitely appreciate.
Dugger also spoke at his locker about the opportunity before practice and as usual, he downplayed the entire situation, but did acknowledge it was special.
“It was a big honor,” he said. “It meant a lot knowing the guys feel that way about me. He (Mayo) just came up and told me. It was nothin’ special. He came up to me and talked to me about it…it feels good, but we’re just trying to win games at the end of the day. So, that’s really all the goal is.”