The Jerod Mayo regime is over, but the Patriots are still suffering through some questionable contracts. One of such is Kyle Dugger's. Despite never being a particularly good coverage safety, the Lenoir-Rhyne product is the 11th highest paid at the position based on AAV as of now, and his stats don't match.
While his play last year was disappointing, fans believed he might be a fit for Vrabel's physical defensive scheme. Instead, he's been buried in the depth chart behind fellow starter Jabrill Peppers, veteran Jaylinn Hawkins, and rookie Craig Woodson.
The team seems to favor the trio given their contract statuses. They also brought in veteran Marcus Epps, and 2024 UDFA Dell Pettus put together a strong preseason after an encouraging 2024.
How will Kyle Dugger exit the Patriots, if that is his inevitable future?
Despite being buried in the depth chart, Dugger had two interceptions in the final two preseason games. There's little doubt he's one of the team's 53 best players, but given his contract, do other players bring similar enough value to the point they feel comfortable cutting ties? It seems the answer is yes.
Parting ways with the safety is difficult. Given that a team handed the Patriots a pick for Jonnu Smith after two horrific seasons, nothing is impossible, but there are other roadblocks with Dugger.
Due to the Patriots' general instability over the past five seasons, few coaches in the league have the ties to Dugger necessary to make a move for him as a reclamation project.
Additionally, taking on such a contract would handcuff teams due to the remainder of his originally $58 million deal. Could a deal be restructured? Possibly, but why would Dugger be happy with that? Mark Daniels of Mass Live agrees that the complexity would come through his contract, citing a source that said "he’d be 'shocked' if another team were willing to trade for the veteran safety."
All in all, it seems most likely he's released or kept as a depth piece. Should they release him, they would save just $1.1 million this season, but would split his dead cap hit to $14 million and $9 million over the next two seasons, respectively.
A trade would save the team north of $10 million, but as previously stated, no one is likely to take his contract. If someone were to come knocking, don't expect more than a sixth or seventh round pick.