Over the last few years, the Patriots have been a team more focused on adding superstar players to their roster rather than already having them on the team. With the exception of a few, like cornerback Christian Gonzalez, not many have been deemed desirable for other teams to call about, which made it surprising to hear that Mike Vrabel and Co. were hoping to get a few trades done before roster cutdowns.
It was more surprising to find out who some of those players were, one of whom was longtime starting safety Kyle Dugger. Although it wasn't totally unexpected, given that he had progressively fallen down the depth chart at training camp, the idea that he had fallen so far behind that they didn't even want him on the roster anymore was hard to imagine.
However, that was apparently not the case, and yet he was not traded; instead, he was named to the Patriots' 53-man roster for the upcoming season.
The initial belief was that he only made it because teams weren't willing to take on his contract; therefore, no trades could be made. There's likely some truth to that, and some reporters have suggested as such, but Vrabel seemed to hint otherwise earlier this week.
There's a good chance that Kyle Dugger actually earned his spot on the Patriots' roster for this season
While speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Vrabel was inevitably asked about Dugger's preseason performance after a forgettable training camp that saw him practice more with the backup defense than with the starters.
The head coach seemed to imply that they saw progression from Dugger and had changed his mind on his fit with the team, which suggests that he earned his spot on the roster rather than just being carried over due to a lack of trade success.
#Patriots HC Mike Vrabel on S Kyle Dugger: “I think he’s feeling better…I think he can help us.”
— Evan Lazar (@ezlazar) August 27, 2025
Vrabel pointed to Dugger’s play in the preseason finale as a step forward for him.
This would obviously be the best-case scenario, given how well Dugger performed for the Patriots in 2023. That's what led to the Jerod Mayo regime awarding him a hefty contract, but he has yet to live up to that salary.
The hope is that he will continue to improve as the weeks pass, as he fully recovers from offseason surgery for a misdiagnosed injury sustained last season. There is a chance that his ankle injury has affected his performance, and that won't change, but we'll have to wait and see.
For now, he was productive in the two preseason games against the Vikings and Giants, so maybe he can build upon that as soon as Week 1.