The New England Patriots are 5-2 after seven weeks, quickly establishing themselves as one of the best teams in the league this season. With how the Patriots have looked this season, and their upcoming opponents, that isn’t expected to change any time soon. New England will keep that in mind as the November 4 trade deadline approaches.
The Patriots are in position to be a buyer at the deadline because they’re on pace to be a contender this season. That begs the question: what will happen with Kyle Dugger? Before the start of the season, New England was reportedly shopping the veteran safety after his role on the defense was minimized. However, Dugger is still on the roster, and it doesn’t seem like he’ll be going anywhere soon.
In a recent ESPN piece by Matt Bowen and Jeremy Fowler, looking at the likelihood of a trade for 25 different players, they gave Dugger just a 25% chance or being traded.
ESPN says it’s unlikely Kyle Dugger will be moved ahead of trade deadline
Fowler acknowledged that the Patriots were comfortable moving Dugger ahead of the season and that they could ultimately still do it. However, considering how much the safety has played in the last two games, the insider says New England may want to hang on to the defender.
"The belief in league circles is that Dugger would have been dealt before Week 1 but for his cost-prohibitive $9.75 million salary. There was interest then and could be again. Now that New England is sitting at 5-2, perhaps it will revisit a potential deal. However, Dugger has played a combined 102 defensive snaps over the past two weeks due to an injury to starter Jaylinn Hawkins, which might change things. Dugger would be a quality third-safety insurance for a team in contention."Jeremy Fowler (ESPN)
To start the season, Dugger was playing very limited snaps. In the first three games, he played a combined 39 defensive snaps. A week later, he played 35 snaps, accounting for 50.7% of the defensive plays. In the last two weeks, he played every defensive snap for the Patriots. That only happened because of an injury to Jaylinn Hawkins, as Fowler pointed out, but New England could appreciate having Dugger as an insurance option.
Dugger has two seasons left on his deal after this year, and could certainly be a good piece for other teams throughout the league. However, unless the Patriots get an offer they simply can’t refuse, the safety will likely stay in New England through the deadline.