The third in a trio of moves on Tuesday evening wasn’t all that surprising.
The Patriots signed Marcus Jones to a well-deserved three-year extension earlier in the day, then traded Keion White around dinner time. About an hour later, reports started to circulate that New England was trading veteran safety Kyle Dugger to the Steelers.
Mike Vrabel’s reshaping of the organization rolls on with exactly a week to go until the NFL trade deadline.
Dugger was traded along with a seventh-round pick in the 2026 draft to Pittsburgh for a sixth-round pick.
Dugger has been a Patriot since Bill Belichick famously selected him from a school no one had heard of (Lenoir-Rhyne) in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. A quiet player who led by example and was a thumper in the run game, Dugger often struggled in coverage, but was a pro’s pro.
Dugger finishes his Patriots career with 81 games played after he sat against Cleveland. Dugger appeared in the team’s first seven games prior to Sunday, starting four of them, totaling seven solo tackles.
In his career, Dugger had 69 starts, nine interceptions, two pick-sixes, 24 PBUs, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, 296 solo tackles (441 total) and 10 quarterback hits.
This one seemed fairly inevitable starting all the way back in training camp when he was sitting behind rookies like Craig Woodson. It feels like Vrbael appreciated Dugger’s professionalism and quiet locker room demeanor, trying to make it work until the deadline rolled around. Vrabel is clearly reshaping the roster completely how he wants it, and this was an opportunity to cut bait, while also allowing Dugger to still play for a competitive franchise, not just dumping him off to a bottom feeder in the league.
This is a good move for both sides. A fresh start and a different scheme for Dugger could help him regain the form he had in 2021 (4 interceptions), 2022 (3 picks, two pick-sixes) and 2023 (two interceptions, 71 solo tackles).
Meanwhile, the Pats get more draft capital to play with in April or better yet, to possibly include in a deal during next week’s deadline.