https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/will-patriots-find-trade-interest-for-s-kyle-dugger
The Patriots last week began shopping safety Kyle Dugger, along with outside linebacker Anfernee Jennings, as Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald reported Wednesday.
They apparently aren’t getting interest for Dugger, so they are amplifying their desire to move on from the five-year pro in hopes of drumming up interest. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media tweeted Sunday about the team’s interest in trading Dugger.
It has been obvious for a while that the Patriots don’t see Dugger as part of their future.
He has tumbled down the depth chart since Mike Vrabel’s arrival.
Dugger practiced with the scout-team defense last week and has played deep into preseason games. He played 39 snaps — 57 percent of the defensive snaps — in Thursday’s preseason game against the Giants after 45 in the second preseason game.
Dugger played last season on a high-ankle sprain that went misdiagnosed for almost three months and required tightrope surgery on his right ankle in January. Dugger has yet to fully rebound, a recovery that’s been made harder by learning a new defense.
“It’s weird,” Dugger told Callahan after Thursday’s game. “There’s little stuff like that where some stuff feels fine. And then other times, it’s like ‘Woah, OK. That didn’t feel like it normally feels.’ I don’t always know where there’s going to be rust, and that’s kind of been the hardest part. One [play I] will be where I know I can be, and then [I’m] not in some areas.”
The Patriots signed Dugger to a four-year, $58 million contract extension in the 2024 offseason. His $9.75 million salary is guaranteed, and he is scheduled to count $15.264 million against the team’s cap.
https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/will-patriots-find-trade-interest-for-s-kyle-dugger
