Kyle Dugger is already making the Patriots regret trading him

It’s been almost a month since the New England Patriots traded away safety Kyle Dugger, but he easily remains the team’s most puzzling story of this 2025 season.

Over a span of three preseason games, Dugger mysteriously dropped from starter to scout team to on the trade block. It wasn’t until after the Patriots’ Week 8 win over the Cleveland Browns that Dugger was shipped to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a swap of 2026 sixth- and seventh-round draft picks.

Dugger was never a Mike Vrabel guy, but he quickly went from one of the team’s highest-paid young players to starting three consecutive games in Mike Tomlin’s defense.

He’s performing well for the Steelers, too, leaving Patriots fans miffed as to why their team would bail on a strong depth player — while continuing to pay the majority of his salary — in the midst of a torrid start to this 2025 season.

The New England Patriots might’ve acted too soon with the Kyle Dugger trade

It’s hard to second-guess Vrabel’s decision-making this season. His Patriots enter Week 12 riding an eight-game winning streak and look poised to challenge not only for the AFC East title but also for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The one nitpick with this team is its roster depth, though, and that’s one area that’s sure to be tested over the season’s stretch run.

The Patriots just placed defensive lineman Milton Williams on injured reserve with an ankle injury, meaning he’ll miss a minimum of four games. The team will likely need more from rookie Joshua Farmer and third-year pro Cory Durden in Williams’ absence, but Farmer was inactive for last Thursday night’s win over the New York Jets with an ankle issue of his own.

New England’s depth gets razor-thin at other position groups, and safety certainly qualifies. The Patriots have little behind starters Craig Woodson and Jaylinn Hawkins outside of Dell Pettus, unless you count special teamer Brenden Schooler as a serious option; he’s not, though, as Schooler has played exactly three defensive snaps all season, per Pro Football Focus.

It makes you wonder, why would the Patriots essentially pay Dugger to start for an AFC rival, when defensive back depth was a real area of concern? It gets even more awkward when Dugger’s helping the Steelers win games with his playmaking ability in coverage.

Again, Vrabel’s been pushing all the right buttons this season, but the decision to move Dugger so soon could easily come back to haunt the Patriots this season.