Throughout the 2024 season, the Patriots have dealt with their fair share of injuries to some of their most important players on the roster. They suffered the biggest blow when they lost Christian Barmore before the season, only for that to worsen with the season-ending injuries to David Andrews and Ja'Whaun Bentley.
The injuries continue to pile up in the weeks since those captains went down, including the latest to safety Kyle Dugger. As he deals with an ankle injury, he has not suited up for the last two games, and his status for Week 10 isn't looking too great, either.
With Jabrill Peppers sidelined due to legal issues, the safety room would inevitably rely more on Dugger. But his continued injury has made that nearly impossible, and his absence from Wednesday's practice is another sign that he won't be playing against the Bears next Sunday.
“No Chill” in the air … 77 degrees and sunny at Patriots practice on Nov. 6.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) November 6, 2024
Safety Kyle Dugger, who hasn’t played the last two games due to an ankle injury, was not spotted at the media-access portion. pic.twitter.com/yB4J1YwSSz
Although the young safeties stepping up in his place have played reasonably well, specifically Marte Mapu taking over as a voice of the defense, it's favorable to have your two best players in your lineup. Unfortunately, that can't happen for New England, with both Dugger and Peppers out indefinitely and with no sign of a return soon.
Peppers' return is a bit more complex (obviously), and there's a high chance he never suits up for the Patriots again. But that's not the case with Dugger, and the hope is he can return sooner rather than later.
As of now, we don't have a timetable for when that might be. He returned to practice a few weeks ago, but that was short-lived, and the extent of his injury is still unknown. Given that he's already missed two games, it seems like it's not something he can quickly recover from, which makes the entire situation even more concerning for the rest of the season.